Sports

Filipino champion Nonito Donaire, 29, defended his world super bantamweight title and scored a TKO victory against Toshiaki Nishioka on Saturday at the Home Depot Center, in Carson, California.

Nishioka who went down with a minute left in the 6th round after being hit with two successive left jabs finally crumbled down with a right hand at 1:54 in the 9th round.

“We wanted to use my jab and use my speed,” Donaire said. “I wanted to open him up by timing that jab and that’s exactly what happened for me to be able to land that straight punch.”

After getting dropped by a right hand in the 9th, Nishioka’s corner wisely stopped it. It’s not that Nishioka was badly hurt but rather he was totally ineffective he just looked old and not willing to really fight.

Nishioka just looked like a fighter that was on the verge of retirement who was coming back for one more fight. He looked rusty. - boxingnews24

Donaire completely dominated the fight from start to finish keeping Nishioka at a distance.

Donaire, 30-1, 19 KOs, retained his WBO and IBF super bantamweight titles and extended his own winning streak to 29 contests.

In February, Donaire captured the vacant WBO 122-pound (55kg) title, winning a gritty split-decision battle over former world champion Wilfredo Vazquez. Five months later, he added the IBF title with a unanimous decision over Jeffrey Mathebula.

Nishioka who was sent home with 39-5-3, 24 KOs, had not lost by knockout since the second fight of his career in 1995 and had not lost any contest since Thai star Veeraphol Sahaprom beat him in 2004.

Nishioka had been unbeaten for 16 contests going into the fight and the veteran 36-year-old from Tokyo had successfully defended the WBC 122-pound title seven times between 2009 and 2011.

Source: Boxingnews24, InterAksyon news