Donaire drills Oubaali in 4th round to make history as oldest bantamweight champ

'Filipino Flash' back on top at age 38 after massive KO

After the fight, Nonito Donaire, calm as could be and with a smile on his face in the center of the ring, said simply, “I’m back, I’m back.”

Yes, indeed, he was back, and in a big way.

There was no wild celebration or emotional outpouring, just Donaire very content with what he had just accomplished, having brutally knocked out Nordine Oubaali in the fourth round to take his WBC bantamweight world title on Saturday night in the Showtime main event at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

With the victory, Donaire became a three-time bantamweight world titlist and broke his own record as the oldest fighter in boxing history to win a 118-pound championship at 38 years, 204 days.

“The Filipino Flash,” who has won world titles in four divisions (flyweight, bantamweight, junior featherweight and featherweight) set the record when he was 36 and stopped Ryan Burnett in the fourth round to take his bantamweight title in the quarterfinals of the eight-man World Boxing Super Series in November 2018.

After losing that belt by decision two fights later in a unification fight with Japanese pound-for-pound star Naoya Inoue in the WBSS final in the 2019 consensus fight of the year, Donaire is back on top after an impressive performance against Oubaali.

“The king has returned,” Donaire joked. “Being at this age is not the question. It’s about my performance, about my ability to grow. I believe it matters not what your age is but how you are mentally. How strong you are mentally.

“What I learned from the Inoue fight (in November 2019 in Japan) is that I’m back. I can still compete at this level. The whole time I was not fighting, I was learning. I’m ready for the next one.”

Donaire and Oubaali were both coming off 17-month layoffs but after two fairly even and slow-paced rounds, Donaire (41-6, 27 KOs), of Las Vegas, took over the fight in the third round by scoring two knockdowns. He landed his calling card left hook with 45 seconds left to drop Oubaali, who was making his third title defense, for the first time in his career when he put both of his gloves on the canvas after absorbing the hard shot.

Oubaali (17-1, 12 KOs), a 34-year-old southpaw and two-time Olympian from France, did not seem too badly hurt by the punch, but then Donaire flattened him face first with another left hook at the bell ending the round. Oubaali was up at referee Jack Reiss’ count of seven and was shaky, but he responded to Reiss’ commands.

He got the one-minute rest period between rounds to try to collect himself but Donaire was all over him in the fourth round. Midway through it Donaire landed a huge left hook, a right hand and another hook that dropped Oubaali hard, prompting Reiss to wave off the fight at 1 minute, 52 seconds.

Now, Donaire is hoping for an eventual rematch with Inoue to unify their three titles.

“This is why I wanted to win this fight. Unification is my next goal,” said Donaire, who was supposed to face Oubaali in December but the fight was scrapped after they both tested positive for Covid-19. “The only thing I haven’t accomplished in boxing is becoming undisputed. That is my goal. The next phase is the rematch.”

Donaire won his first world title at flyweight with the same crushing left hook against Vic Darchinyan in 2007 and since then Donaire has been at or near the top of whatever division he was competing in, a remarkable run for a fighter who has been a pro for 20 years, is an obvious lock for the International Boxing Hall of Fame and could be considered the greatest Filipino fighter in history not named Manny Pacquiao.

“Three decades of being world champion,” Donaire said of holding titles in the 2000s, 2010s and now 2020s. “Nine-time world champion. That’s amazing. I came in here and I felt really good. Today I knew exactly what was going to happen. I knew exactly what I was going to do. I think I was just very focused in the gym. I was very, very focused. I just felt really good coming in and I was grateful to get this opportunity.

“Tonight was something that I had to prove to the world that I’m back and I’m stronger than ever. He was a very tough guy. I think ultimately for me, there was a level of should I be more patient? Or should I go for it? Something I learned in the Inoue fight was to go for the kill. And that’s exactly what I did. I was patient but I knew he was hurt enough that I could take him out.”

Matias stops Jukembayev

In the co-feature, junior welterweight Subriel Matias (17-1, 17 KOs), 29, of Puerto Rico, stopped southpaw Batyrzhan Jukembayev (18-1, 14 KOs), 30, of Kazakhstan, when his corner threw in the towel following the eighth round of what had been a competitive and entertaining IBF title elimination fight.

“I think this is what everybody expected,” Matias said. “Everybody knew it was going to be a great war. This was going to end by knockout whether I was going to get knocked out or Jukembayev was going to get knocked out. I’m just glad it was me who knocked him out.”

With the win, Matias, who scored a knockdown in the fourth round, became one of the mandatory challengers for undisputed 140-pound world champion Josh Taylor. Matias was leading 77-74, 77-74 on two scorecards and the third card was 76-76 at the time of the stoppage.

“After the knockdown, to be honest with you, I could see that he was still strong,” Matias said. “He was throwing punches that were still strong. I thought the fight was going to go a little bit further. But after the sixth round, that’s when I knew that I had him hurt.”

Russell batters Santiago

In the opener, junior welterweight Gary Antuanne Russell (14-0, 14 KOs), 24, a southpaw from Capitol Heights, Maryland, battered Jovanie Santiago (14-2-1, 10 KOs), 31, of Puerto Rico, until his corner stopped the bout following the sixth round.

Russell, 2016 U.S. Olympian and the younger brother of WBC featherweight titleholder Gary Russell Jr., dominated every round against Santiago. According to CompuBox, Russell outlanded Santiago 146-54.

“The importance to me is to execute round-by-round and round-by-round I was executing more and more,” Russell said. “My father (Gary Russell Sr.) told me to go to the body, right hook upstairs. He was open to that. It’s definitely important to me to perform so I’m not just known as Gary Russell’s younger brother. I come from an excellent background of fighters. We’re building a dynasty.”

Santiago, whose previous fight ended in a controversial decision loss to former four-division titlist Adrien Broner on Feb. 20, was the first Russell opponent to get past the fourth round. Now Russell wants to fight Broner.

“A lot of people think he beat Adrien Broner. I want Adrien Broner now,” said Russell, who added that if possible he’d like his next fight to be on the undercard of the third heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder on July 24.

Photos: Esther Lin/Showtime