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| Nonito Donaire is back as a world champ at age 42, albeit on an interim basis. |
MANILA--Nonito Donaire is once again a world champion after beating Chilean opponent Andres Campos at the Casino Buenos Aires on Sunday (Philippine Time) to become the interim WBA bantamweight champ.
At least for eight rounds, Donaire, now aged 42, looked like the "Filipino Flash" that he was at his prime, delivering the more solid blows against Campos, especially his patented left hook.
However, the referee called it a night just one minute into Round 9 when Donaire was wounded in his right eyebrow area following an accidental headbutt.
All three judges, namely Ignacio Robles, Jose Torres, and Guillermo Perez, all had it for Donaire, with Robles and Torres scoring 87-84 and Perez tallying 88-83.
Donaire, back in action after two years, scored his first win since 2021 and moved up to 43-8 overall, while Campos fell to 17-3-1.
Donaire is in line for a title unification against either Antonio Vargas, the reigning WBA regular bantamweight champ, or Daigo Higa.
Vargas and Higa will face off on July 30 in Yokohama.
