NONITO DONAIRE will defend his bantamweight title AGAINST REYMART GABALLO on saturday night.
Nonito Donaire (41-6, 27 KOs) vs. Reymart Gaballo (24-0, 20 KOs)
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 11
- Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: Carson, Calif.
- TV/Stream: Showtime
- Division: Bantamweight
- At stake: Donaire’s WBC title
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: NA
- Also on the card: Kudratillo Abdukakhorov vs. Cody Crowley, 10 rounds, welterweights; Brandun Lee vs. Juan Heraldez, 10 rounds, junior welterweights; Hiroaki Teshigawara vs. Marlon Tapales, featherweights
- Prediction: Donaire KO 7
- Background: The ageless Filipino Flash – 39 years young – will be making the first defense of the title he won by stopping then-unbeaten Nordine Oubaali in four rounds this past May. Many believed that Donaire was finished as an elite fighter when he lost wide decisions to Jessie Magdaleno and Carl Frampton at 122 and 126 pounds in 2016 and 2018, respectively. What did he do? Move back down to 118, at which he resurrected his status. He won two fights, gave pound-for-pounder Naoya Inoue all he could handle in a decision loss and then beat Oubaali at 38. The jury is still out on Gaballo, also a Filipino. He seemed to be schooled by Emmanuel Rodriguez in his most-recent fight and first serious test yet somehow emerged with a split-decision victory and the opportunity to fight for a major title. Donaire isn’t the technician that Rodriguez is, which might give Gaballo a chance in this fight. However, in terms of all-around ability and punching power, the challenger has never faced anyone even remotely like Donaire.
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