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| Riku Masuda scored arguably his biggest win yet against Nonito Donaire. |
MANILA--Nonito Donaire missed out on his quest to win another world title as he fell prey to Japanese opponent Riku Masuda in a Sunday night title eliminator in Yokohama.
The 43-year-old Donaire, looking to reset his own record of being the oldest bantamweight champ, began losing steam when Masuda picked up the pace in Round 6, staggering the Filipino legend with a shot that sent him to the ropes.
Donaire tried to turn things around despite the limited space to work with, even stunning Masuda with a 1-2 combo.
However, in Round 7, Masuda regained his momentum, eventually scoring a knockdown late into the round.
Briefly derailed by the round break, Masuda quickly stepped on the gas in Round 8, pummeling Donaire with one punch after another.
Seeing that the damage was already too much, Donaire's corner threw in their towel, signaling that they are now conceding.
Masuda scored his ninth knockout and moved up to 10-1, and he is now set to face Seiya Tsutsumi for the WBA bantamweight title.
Masuda is now 2-0 against Filipino opponents, previously beating Jonas Sultan in 2024.
Donaire, on the other hand, lost back-to-back matches against Japanese foes, also falling to Tsutsumi last December for the said belt, and is now at 43-10 in his already legendary career.
