Vintage Donaire stops French champion to regain title he won a decade ago

MANILA, Philippines — Nonito Donaire Jr. has regained the WBC bantamweight championship after dominating previously undefeated titlist Nordine Oubaali via fourth-round knockout at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California on Saturday (Sunday, Manila time).

Donaire thus became the oldest champion in his division at 38 years old, winning the same title he first bagged in 2011 against Mexican Fernando Montiel.

The Filipino-American pug started the bout strong, sending France's Oubaali down to the canvas in the third round — the first time the Frenchman went down in his career.

Just when Oubaali thought he was out of the woods, a left hook from Donaire connected just as the bell rang in the third round which sent him to the ground again.

The referee counted but allowed the defending champion to continue on in the fourth round.

However, with the momentum all on Donaire's side, it didn't take long for the Filipino to knock Oubaali down again, which forced the referee to stop the fight.

Donaire improved to 41-6, with 27 KOs — he is 16-4 in title fights — while Oubaali dropped to 17-1 (12 KOs).