MANILA, Philippines — Wala pa ring kupas si four-division world champion Nonito ‘The Filipino Flash” Donaire matapos irehistro ang agresibong sixth-round knockout win laban kay Stephon Young para maidepensa ang kanyang World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight title sa World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) na ginanap sa Cajundome sa Lafayette, Louisiana.
Mabilis na inilatag ni Donaire ang tikas nito matapos paliguan ng suntok si Young at dominahin ang unang tatlong yugto ng laban.
Subalit isang solidong left hook ang pinakawalan ni Donaire na kumunekta sa baba ni Young, may 2:45 minuto pang nalalabi sa sixth round upang matamis na masungkit ang panalo.
“We came in here with a good game plan, but Stephon is a slick fighter so it was tough to come up with a good game plan,” wika ni Donaire.
Sumulong sa 40-5 rekord si Donaire kabilang ang 26 knockouts.
Orihinal na makakalaban sana ni Donaire si South African Zolani Tete para sa isang bantamweight title unification bout. Subalit nagtamo si Tete ng injury sa kanang balikat dahilan upang palitan ito ni Young.
“One way or another I paid for it with scratches on my right hand, but it paid off. I’ll take the damage to earn the victory,” dagdag ni Donaire.
Dahil sa panalo, umusad si Donaire sa finals ng World Boxing Super Series kung saan makakaharap nito ang mananalo sa pagitan nina WBA Regular bantamweight world champion Naoya Inoue ng Japan at IBF bantamweight world champion Emmanuel Rodriguez ng Puerto Rico.
Nakatakdang magtuos sina Inoue at Rodriguez sa Mayo 18 sa Glasgow, Scotland.
“I have all the respect in the world for Naoya Inoue. There was an unspoken goal in Japan between me and Inoue to go to the finals. I look forward to facing him in the finals,” ani Donaire.