WBC Special Preview: Donaire vs. Santiago

WBC Stats

Jose Sulaimán WBC HONORARY LIFETIME PRESIDENT (+)

Mauricio Sulaimán WBC PRESIDENT

VACANT WBC BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP 

THE COSMOPOLITAN LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, USA

JULY 15, 2023

 TV: ESPN + 

THIS WILL BE THE WBC’S 2, 175 CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT   IN  THE SIXTY YEARS HISTORY OF THE WBC

TOM BROWN &TGB PROMOTIONS, PRESENT:

 

 NONITO DONAIRE (Philippines)

WBC no. 1

Date of Birth:    November 16, 1982

Birthplace:        Taliban, Bohol, Philippines

Residence:            Las Vegas, Nevada

Alias:                The Filipino Flash

Record:             42-7-0, 28 ko’s

KO’S%:           57.2%

Age:                 40

Guard:             Orthodox

World Titles fights:   25 (20-6-0)

Total rounds:    299

Trainer:            Kenny Adams / Rachel Donaire

Manager:          Cameron Dunkin

Promoter:     Ringstar Sports

 

ALEXANDRO  SANTIAGO (Mex)

WBC no. 4

Date of Birth:    February 7, 1996

Birthplace:        Tijuana, Baja California

Resides:            Tijuana, Baja California

Alias:                Peque

Record:             27-3-5, 14 ko’s

KO’S%:           40%

Age:                 27

Guard:             Orthodox

World Titles fights:   1 (0-0-1)

Total rounds:    205

Trainer:            Bobby Quirarte

Manager:          Paco Damian

Promoter:         Paco Presents

 

WBC’S BANTAMWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONS

NAME                                                          PERIOD AS CHAMPION

1. EDER JOFRE (BRA) 1963 – 1965
2. MASAHIKO HARADA (JAP) 1965 – 1968
3. LIONEL ROSE (AUST) 1968 – 1969
4. RUBEN OLIVARES (MEX) 1969 – 1970
5. CHUCHO CASTILLO (MEX) 1970 – 1971
6. RUBEN OLIVARES (MEX) * 1971 – 1972
7. RAFAEL HERRERA (MEX) 1972
8. ENRIQUE PINDER (PAN) 1972
9. RAFAEL HERRERA (MEX) * 1973 – 1974
10. RODOLFO MARTINEZ (MEX) 1974 – 1976
11. CARLOS ZARATE (MEX) 1976 – 1979
12. LUPE PINTOR (MEX) 1979 – 1982
13. ALBERT DAVILA (US) 1983 – 1984
14. DANIEL ZARAGOZA (MEX) 1985
15. MIGUEL LORA (COL) 1985 – 1988
16. RAUL PEREZ (MEX) 1988 – 1991
17. GREG RICHARDSON (US) 1991
18. JOICHIRO TATSUYOSHI (JAP) 1991 – 1993
19. VICTOR RABANALES (MEX) (INTERIM) 1992 – 1993
20. JUNGIL BYUN (KOR) 1993
21. JOICHIRO TATSUYOSHI (JAP) (INTERIM)* 1993 – 1994
22. YASUEI YAKUSHIJI (JAP) 1993 – 1995
23. WAYNE MCCULLOUGH (IRE) 1995 – 1996
24. SIRIMONGKOL SINGMANASSUK (THA) 1996 – 1997
25. JOICHIRO TATSUYOSHI (JAP) * 1997 – 1998
26. VEERAPHOL NAKHONLUANG (THA) 1998 – 2005
27. HOZUMI HASEGAWA (JAPAN) 2005 – 2010
28. FERNANDO MONTIEL (MEXICO) 2010 – 2011
29. NONITO DONARIE (PHIL) 2011
30. SHINSUKE YAMANAKA (JAPAN) 2011 – 2017
31. LUIS NERY (MEXICO) 2017 – 2018
32. NORDINE OUBAALI (FRANCE) 2019 – 2021
33. NONITO DONARIE (PHIL) * 2021 – 2022
34. NAOYA INOUE (JAPAN) 2022 – 2023

*REGAINED

 Top Ten

1. CARLOS ZARATE (MEXICO)
2. EDER JOFRE (BRAZIL)
3. RUBEN OLIVARES (MEXICO)
4. RAFAEL HERRERA (MEXICO)
5. VEERAPHOL NAKHONLUANG (THAI)
6. JOICHIRO TATSUYOSHI (JAPAN)
7. JUNGIL BYUN (KOREA)
8. YASUEI YAKUSHIJI (JAPAN)
9. HOZUMI HASEGAWA (JAPAN)
10. SHINSUKE YAMANAKA (JAPAN)

General Information

29 WORLD CHAMPIONS RECOGNIZED BY THE WBC OF WHICH ONLY 3 HAVE REGAINED THEIR TITLE:

RUBEN OLIVARES (MEXICO)               TWICE

RAFAEL HERRERA (MEXICO)               TWICE

NONITO DONAIRE (PHILIPPINES)         TWICE

JOICHIRO TATSUYOSHI (JAPAN)          THREE TIMES

172 TITLE FIGHTS IN THE BANTAMWEIGHT DIVISION HAVE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WBC IN 19 COUNTRIES.

THIS WILL BE THE 51º^rd. TITLE FIGHT OF WHICH HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN UNITED STATES IN BANTAMWEIGHT DIVISION IN THE HISTORY OF THE WBC

WBC BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE BOUTS BY COUNTRY

JAPAN                          64

U.S.A.                            50

MEXICO                       20

THAILAND                   14

COLOMBIA                  4

AUSTRALIA                 3

FRANCE                       3

SOUTH KOREA            2

PANAMA                      2

SPAIN                           1

SCOTLAND                  1

RUSSIA                         1

PUERTO RICO             1

PHILIPPINES               1

NORTH IRELAND        1

KAZAKHSTAN              1

IRELAND                     1

ARUBA                         1

CHILE                          1

TOTAL             172

Bouts held in the  Nevada State

349 BOUTS HAVE BEEN HELD IN THE NEVADA STATE IN THE ENTIRE WBC HISTORY

 THIS WILL BE THE 11th. WBC BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE BOUT CELEBRATED IN THE NEVADA STATE IN ALL WBC HISTORY.

44 WBC TITLE BOUTS IN THE HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION, THE HIGHEST OF ALL WBC HISTORY.

Breakdown By Division

HEAVY                             44

WELTER                          40*

SUPERLIGHT                  36

SUPERFEATHER             36

LIGHT                              34

MIDDLE                           30

SUPERWELTER              31*

FEATHER                         18

SUPERBANTAM              18

Lt. HEAVY                     13*

Lt. FLY                            10

BANTAM                          9

CRUISER                          8

SUPERMIDDLE               8*

STRAW                             8

SUPERFLY                       3

FLY                                   3

TOTAL BOUTS       349

 

 WBC Title Fights Mexico vs. Philippines

THERE HAVE BEEN 60 WBC TITLE FIGHTS BETWEEN                                 MEXIC & PHILIPPINES

MEXICO HAS WON 38 WBC TITLE FIGHTS

PHILIPPINES HAS WON 21 WBC TITLE FIGHTS AND 1 DRAW

Memorable Fights

05/02/1977            CARLOS ZARATE – FERNANDO CABANELA                TKO 3                NAUCALPAN               BA

29/05/1982            RAFAEL LIMON – ROLANDO NAVARRETE                   KO 12                LAS VEGAS                  SFE

20/03/1987            GILBERTO ROMAN – FRANK CEDEÑO                            DEC 12              MEXICALI                     SFL

19/12/1990            ROLANDO PASCUA – HUMBERTO GONZALEZ           KO 6                   INGLEWOOD               LF

25/03/1991            MELCHOR COB CASTRO – ROLANDO PASCUA          TKO 10              INGLEWOOD               LF

16/03/1992            RICARDO LOPEZ – PRETTY BOY LUCAS                        DEC 12              MEXICO CITY             ST

01/03/1996            LUISITO ESPINOSA – ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ           KO 4                   GUADALAJARA         FE

24/04/1999            MANNY PACQUIAO – GABRIEL MIRA                             KO 4                   MANILA                         FL

15/05/1999            CESAR SOTO – LUISITO ESPINOSA                                   DEC 12              EL PASO                         FE

31/07/1999            ERIK MORALES – REYNANTE JAMILI                             TKO 6                TIJUANA                        SB

14/04/2000            GUTY ESPADAS JR. – LUISITO ESPINOSA                      TDEC 11           MERIDA                         FE

02/02/2001            JOSE ANTONIO AGUIRRE – MANNY MELCHOR         DEC 12              TIJUANA                        ST

21/01/2006            MANNY PACQUIAO – ERIK MORALES                            TKO 10              LAS VEGAS                  SFE

02/07/2006            MANNY PACQUIAO – OSCAR LARIOS                             UD 12                MANILA                         SFE

15/03/2008            MANNY PACQUIAO – JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ      DEC 12              LAS VEGAS                  SFE

19/06/2010            OMAR NIÑO – RODEL MAYOL                                            UD 12                SAN JUAN DEL RIO  LF

13/11/2010            MANNY PACQUIAO – ANTONIO MARGARITO            UD 12                ARLINGTON                SW

19/02/2011            NONITO DONAIRE – FERNANDO MONTIEL                  KO 2                   LAS VEGAS                  BA

Bantamweight Memorable Fights

27/11/1964       EDER JOFRE – BERNARDO CARABALLO                         KO 7                    BOGOTA

17/05/1965       MASAHIKO HARADA – EDER JOFRE                                 DEC 15                NAGOYA

03/01/1967       MASAHIKO HARADA – JOSE MEDEL                                DEC 15                NAGOYA

06/12/1968       LIONEL ROSE – JESUS CASTILLO                                       DEC 15                INGLEWOOD

22/08/1969       RUBEN OLIVARES – LIONEL ROSE                                    KO 5                    INGLEWOOD

18/04/1970       RUBEN OLIVARES – JESUS CASTILLO                              DEC 15                INGLEWOOD

16/10/1970       JESUS CASTILLO – RUBEN OLIVARES                              TKO 14               INGLEWOOD

19/03/1972       RAFAEL HERRERA – RUBEN OLIVARES                          KO 8                    NAUCALPAN

28/07/1972       ENRIQUE PINDER – RAFAEL HERRERA                            DEC 15                PANAMA CITY

14/04/1973       RAFAEL HERRERA – RODOLFO MARTINEZ                    TKO 12               MONTERREY

25/05/1974       RAFAEL HERRERA – ROMEO ANAYA                               KO 6                    MEXICO CITY

07/12/1974       RODOLFO MARTINEZ – RAFAEL HERRERA                    TKO 4                 MERIDA

08/05/1976       CARLOS ZARATE – RODOLFO MARTINEZ                       KO 4                    INGLEWOOD

25/02/1978       CARLOS ZARATE – ALBERTO DAVILA                             TKO 8                 INGLEWOOD

03/06/1979       LUPE PINTOR – CARLOS ZARATE                                      DEC 15                LAS VEGAS

09/02/1980       LUPE PINTOR – ALBERTO SANDOVAL                             TKO 12               LOS ANGELES

01/09/1983       ALBERTO DAVILA – FRANCISCO BEJINES                      KO 12                  LOS ANGELES,

09/08/1985       MIGUEL LORA – DANIEL ZARAGOZA                               DEC 12                MIAMI,

29/10/1988       RAUL PEREZ – MIGUEL LORA                                            DEC 12                LAS VEGAS

17/09/1992       VICTOR RABANALES – JOICHIRO TATSUYOSHI            TKO 9                 OSAKA

28/03/1993       JUNGIL BYUN – VICTOR RABANALES                              DEC 12                SEOUL

02/07/1993       JOICHIRO TATSUYOSHI – VICTOR RABANALES            DEC 12                OSAKA

23/12/1993       YASUEI YAKUSHIJI – JUNGIL BYUN                                 DEC 12                NAGOYA

04/12/1994       YASUEI YAKUSHIJI – JOICHIRO TATSUYOSHI               DEC 12                NAGOYA

22/11/1997       JOICHIRO TATSUYOSHI – S. SINGMANASSUK               TKO 7                 OSAKA

23/08/1998       JOICHIRO TATSUYOSHI – PAUL AYALA                          TDEC 7               YOKOHAMA

29/12/1998       VEERAPHOL SAHAPROM – JOICHIRO TATSUYOSHI     KO 6                    OSAKA

25/06/2000       VEERAPHOL NAKHONLUANG – TOSHIAKI NISHIOKA DEC 12                TAKASAGO CITY

16/04/2005       HOZUMI HASEGAWA – VEERAPHOL NAKHONLUANG DEC 12              TOKYO

30/04/2010       FERNANDO MONTIEL – HOZUMI HASEGAWA               TKO 4                 TOKYO

19/02/2011       NONITO DONAIRE – FERNANDO MONTIEL                     TKO 2                 LAS VEGAS

08/04/2013       SHINSUKE YAMANAKA – MALCOLM TUNACAO          TKO 12               TOKYO

07/06/2022       NAOYA INOUE (WBA/IBF CHAM.) – NONITO DONAIRE    TKO 2             SAITAMA

Time for a final requiem in a Flash 

By James Blears           

Former four division Champion and all-time Great Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire fights Alexandro “Peque” Santiago for the vacant WBC bantamweight title on July 15^th at the Chelsea Ballroom in the Cosmopolitan Hotel Las Vegas. 

At forty years old, this is Nonito`s last great ring fling. The final hurrah.  What a marvelous merry reel  and jaunty jig he`s led us over these past twenty two years, winning titles ranging all the way from flyweight to featherweight.  His illustrious record is: 42-7, 28 KO`s. But as Oscar Wilde juxtaposed: “The tragedy of growing old is not that one is old, but one is young!”

In music, nostalgia is powerful, resonant, evocative  and emotive. Some of the oldies are the true goldies.  One great hit of 1992 was, Save the Best to Last, written by Phil Galdston, Wendy Waldman and Jon Lind, superbly sung and performed by Vanessa Williams. A memorable line was: “Just when I thought our chance had past…you go and save the best for last.” 

Is this upcoming fight Nonitio’s swansong?  Boxing is not known as a profession of extended longevity. A boxer has to pick and then pack it in, while they still can. Perpetually, a race of momentum Vs time.  What goes around comes around and the rounds mount up. 

A quote of note from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who achieved so much during his brief lifespan of just thirty five years, managing to finish The Death Requiem just in time.  His punch-line was: “The shorter way to do many things is to only do one thing at a time.” 

Nonito is convinced that he still has it within him, within his fame to achieve yet more fame, by again becoming a World Boxing Council champion. And because he’s exceptional and extraordinary rather than ordinary, for him compared to mere mortals, it is possible.  George Bernard Shaw tartly observed:  “People who say it cannot be done, should NOT interrupt those who are doing it!”

Nonito is seeking to break his very own record, as the oldest fighter to win a bantamweight crown.  He was thirty eight when he knocked down Nordine Oubaali twice in the third and again in the fourth, to win by KO. 

This followed his monumental first fight against Naoya “Monster” Inoue in the WBSS final in Japan. Nonito hammered Naoya with a blockbuster left hook in round two, simultaneously breaking his nose and fracturing his right orbital bone.  Naoya was seeing double for the rest of the night, but he almost stopped Nonito in the eleventh, putting him down with a hellacious Left hook to the liver. 

Nonito mustered up all of his courage, guile, sheer grit and experience to weather that delayed reaction typhoon and somehow he made it to the final bell, losing a UD.  It was The Ring Magazine’s Fight of the year.  Fair, hard, competitive and absolutely fantastic!

A very different kettle of fish in Nonito’s most recent fight against the same opponent, before The Japanese Ace moved up, in his quest to challenge WBC super-bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton. Naoya dropped Nonito in round one. He feinted a left and clobbered him with a right to the face, putting him down real hard. Nonito got up and was saved by the bell. But the end was neigh.  

In round two he was staggered, lurched back against the ropes and a huge left dropped him like a stone. Referee Mike Griffin immediately stopped the bout.  It was all over, done and dusted at one minute and twenty four seconds of that fateful second.  How much has this taken out of Nonito?  The defeat seemed to visibly age him. 

Nonito was to have fought Jason Moloney who went off and fought for another organization.

So twenty seven year old Alexandro Santiago (27-3-5, 14KO’s) will be Nonito’s opponent for the title vacated by Inoue. 

Alexandro who`s from Tijuana is a seasoned campaigner, but he`s yet to win the title. His best results  to date, involved a draw against IBF super-flyweight Jerwin Ancajas, but that was way back in September 2018. More recently he lost an entertaining MD to appreciably taller Gary Antonio Russell in 2021. 

Alexandro is broad shouldered, but short of stature. He`s only stands five feet two inches tall with a sixty five inches reach. While Nonito is five feet seven inches tall with a reach of sixty eight and a half inches.  Little Alexandro has little choice, but to wade in and fight at close range, trying to throw clusters of hooks to the body and the head.  His defense can be leaky and therein lies a countermanding, counterpunching opportunity for Nonito.  

Gary Antonio Russell was dominating Alexandro in the early stages with a long right southpaw lead, but he took his foot off the pedal, allowing the shorter man to warm up, warm to his task, get into a fighting groove and it subsequently proved to be a long night, going the full scheduled ten rounds. 

Nonito’s strategy is to forget about being paid overtime, because in boxing there isn`t any. His aim must be to land flush and finish fast, before the zip elastic in his legs diminishes.  On fight night Alexandro will be twenty seven years, five months, one week and one day old.  Nonito will be forty years, seven months, four weeks and one day.  

Nonito’s strategy must be to be succinct. He might do well to be mindful of Benjamin Franklin’s observation: “At twenty the will reigns, at thirty the wit. At forty…judgment,” because as Victor Hugo wrote: “Forty is the old age of youth.”  Alexandro`s plain -plan must be to drag it out to tire the old man.  

As the Old Boxer`s Prayer goes: “I`m an old un up against a young un, who some say could almost be my son.”

Some argue that ageing gracefully goes with the territory, but for sure, Boxing  is no country for old men.