Nonito “Filipino Flash” Donaire will defend his WBO Super Bantamweight title against the unbeaten Jessie Magdaleno in the co-main event of Pacquiao-Vargas on November 5th.
Once one of the best pound for pound fighters in the sport and the 2012 BWAA Fighter of The Year, Donaire’s career spiraled after getting dominated by Cuban master boxer Guilleromo Rigondeaux in 2013. Prior to that defeat, Donair had won 30 fights in a row, beating the likes of Vic Darchinyan, Fernando Montiel, Jeffrey Mathebula, Toshiaki Nishioka, Wilfredo Vasquez Jr and Jorge Arce. Along the way, Donaire annexed a total of six major world titles in four different weight classes.
Known as the Filipino Flash for fast hands and exceptional punching power, Donaire returned to the title picture by beating Cesar Juarez of Mexico in December of 2015. Donaire’s current reign as Super Bantamweight champion is his second as he won the same belt against Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. in 2012. Donaire moved up to featherweight and won the WBA (Super) Featherweight title but was knocked out by Nicholas Walters in 2014. Following the defeat, Donaire moved down in weight class and since won four in a row, three by stoppage.
Las Vegas’ own Magdaleno is unbeaten in 23 fights with 17 knockouts. The 24-year old southpaw will be making his first title fight appearance against the veteran Donaire and will be making a huge step up in level of opposition. Despite his impressive record, Magdaleno has never faced a fighter in Donaire’s caliber. However, given that Donaire may no longer be the precise surgeon who was named the 2012 Fighter of the Year, this could be Magdaleno’s coming out party.
Jessie Magdaleno is the WBO’s mandatory challenger for Donaire. The #1 ranked WBO Super Featherweight contender been calling out the Flash for quite some time now. A victory over Donaire will be an early birthday present for Magdaleno who will be turning 25 on November 8th.
The Donaire vs. Magdaleno bout is expected to be officially announced by Top Rank on September 8th via a press conference from Los Angeles. Pacquiao-Vargas will be held at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will mark Vargas’ first defense of the WBO Welterweight title he won by knocking out Sadam Ali last March.
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