FilAm Donaire Jr. gets another crack at WBC bantamweight title against Moloney
FIL-AM Nonito Donaire Jr., a former resident of the San Francisco Bay Area.
MANILA/SAN FRANCISCO — Former four-division world champion, Nonito “Filipino Flash” Donaire Jr., has been ordered by the World Boxing Council to face Australian world title challenger Jason Moloney.
If the fight pushes through, it will the comeback of the Filipino American Donaire, 40, who was formerly a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area and now is based in Las Vegas.
The WBC formally ordered a vacant bantamweight title fight between Moloney and Donaire, more than two months after confirming the pairing during its annual convention last November.
The WBC gave the two sides given until February 17 to reach terms and avoid a purse bid hearing.
Moloney fights under the banner of Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum’s Top Rank, with company vice president Carl Moretti instructed to take the lead in negotiations for the former two-time title challenger who is managed by Tony Tolj. Donaire is promoted by Richard Schaefer and managed by his wife, Rachel.
It can be recalled that Donaire lost the WBC world bantamweight title to unbeaten Japanese boxing sensation, Naoya Inoue last June in Saitama, Japan via a second round technical knockout.
The heartbreaking defeat prompted Donaire to consider returning to the super flyweight division.
The WBC decision, however, would stall Donaire’s return to super flyweight.
With the defeat last June, Donaire dropped to a 42-7 (win-loss) record with 28 knockouts, while Moloney who recently bagged the WBC silver bantamweight and the WBO international bantamweight titles against Filipino Aston Palicte improved to a 25-2 (win-loss) card with 19 knockouts.
Moloney scored a resounding technical knockout against Palicte, a former world title challenger in their June bout in Melbourne, Australia to bag the two regional title. He went on to win another bout against Nawaphon Kaikanha last October in Melbourne.
The WBC confirmed during its convention that Moloney and Donaire would be next in line for the title once Naoya Inoue (24-0, 21KOs) vacated the belts to campaign at junior featherweight
Moloney and Donaire were named as the top two WBC contenders during the WBC convention, where it was agreed that their eventually ordered fight would carry a 50-50 split should it eventually make its way to a purse bid hearing. (Jeanne Michael Penaranda)
