However, while the first fight was competitive, Inoue’s victory left something to be desired given how much he had struggled with Donaire in previous fights. Can Nonito Donaire rise again against Naoya Inoue?
Let’s examine the odds and make predictions!
For the first time in more than three years, three-division champion Nonito Donaire will step into the ring against an undefeated opponent this June 7 in Japan,
For the first time in more than three years, three-division champion Nonito Donaire will step into the ring against an undefeated opponent this June 7 in Japan,
when he faces IBF super bantamweight world champion Naoya Inoue in a rematch of their November 23 fight. Donaire (38-4, 24 KOs) lost to Inoue (14-0, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision that night, but he earned $1 million for his effort and has since made two successful defenses at featherweight against Vic Darchinyan and Simpiwe Vetyeka.
Reasons Why Nonito Donaire will win
Just as he did before, Nonito Donaire will rely on his speed to nullify Naoya Inoue’s. The first time these two fought it was a hotly contested bout that went back and forth. However, when all was said and done, Donaire got off more punches than his Japanese opponent.
While not always accurate, Donaire’s faster hands gave him an edge over Inoue. If he can replicate that performance again, it could be enough for him to win a close decision or even by knockout late in the fight.
Reasons Why He Won’t
Naoya’s Iron Chin – One of boxing’s biggest mysteries is how boxers like Naoya Inoue can take so many shots to the head and still keep going. After all, he never went down against Gokhan Saki or Omar Narvaez, despite taking some clean shots.
No matter how often or hard you hit him, it doesn’t seem to faze him at all. This isn’t a knock on his power; it just means that even if Nonito does land a big shot, there’s no guarantee that he won’t be able to recover quickly enough for another counterpunch.
He Won’t Be Able to Deal With Naoya Speed – For years now, we have been talking about how fast Nonito Donaire is...and for years now, we have seen his speed get completely neutralized by guys who simply move faster than him.
Final Thought
It’s been over 2 years since we’ve seen a rematch in boxing and it looks like we are about to get another one! The original fight back in 2019 was an instant classic.
Nonito The Filipino Flash Donaire edged Naoya The Monster Inoue in an incredibly competitive bout that could have gone either way. Since then, both fighters have enjoyed massive success and should be looking to stamp their names even further on history in their upcoming rematch.
Both fighters looked great against their respective opponents in their last fights. While Donaire appeared older than his 36 years of age by having trouble putting away relatively unknown fighter Mario Briones, he showed good head movement and hand speed throughout.
Meanwhile, Inoue went through Kosei Tanaka with relative ease in just two rounds before landing a sweet jumping knee from nowhere to finish him off at 0:36 of round 2. Can Nonito rise again or will Naoya continue his incredible winning streak?
