By Ian S Palmer
WBC Bantamweight Champion Nonito Donaire of the Philippines takes on fellow countryman Reymart Gaballo this Saturday December 11th in Carson, California. The 12-rounder can be seen live in America on Showtime and live in Canada on TSN 5. Donaire last fought in May when he demolished Nordine Oubaali in four rounds to win his latest title while Gaballo last boxed in December of last year when he edged Emmanuel Rodriguez via a 12-round split decision.
The 39-year-old ‘Filipino Flash’ Donaire bounced back with wins over Ryan Burnett in 2018 for the WBA belt and Stephon Young in 2019 in the World Boxing Super Series after dropping a unanimous decision to Carl Frampton in a shot at the vacant interim WBO Featherweight crown in April, 2018. He then lost to Naoya Inoue the 2019 fight of the year by unanimous decision in the World Series of Boxing Final in Japan.
He bounced back with a magnificent performance against Oubaali and dropped him three times before the fight was stopped in the fourth round. His record now stands at 41-6 with 27 Kos. Donaire’s a former amateur star who moved to America as a youngster and is 16-5 with 10 Kos in world title fights. He’s also a four-division World Champion as he’s held titles in the flyweight, bantamweight, super bantamweight and featherweight divisions.
Donaire has also captured numerous regional and minor titles since turning pro in 2001 and has boxed 293 rounds since then with a current knockout ratio of 57.5 per cent. His biggest wins have been over Oubaali, Burnett, Vic Darchinyan (twice), Hernan Marquez, Fernando Montiel, Omar Narvaez, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., Jeffrey Mathebula, Toshiaki Nishioka, and Jorge Arce.
His losses have come at the hands of Inoue, Frampton, Jessie Magdaleno in 2016, Guillermo Rigondeaux in 2013, Nicholas Walters in 2014 and Rosendo Sanchez in his second pro bout in 2001. The only man to stop him was Walters in the sixth round but Donaire’s proven over the years to have a solid chin. He’s 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 68.5-inch reach and bound to end up in the Boxing Hall of fame once he hangs up his gloves.
As for Gaballo, he’s just 25 years old and climbs into the ring with a perfect record of 24-0 with 20 big Ko’s. He obviously carries a lot of power in his punches with a current knockout ratio of 83.3 per cent and has boxed just 73 rounds since turning pro in 2014. Gaballo, who’s nicknamed ‘Assassin’ also had a pretty good amateur career and won a bronze medal as a flyweight in the junior division at the PLDT-ABAP National Boxing Championships in 2013.
Gaballo stands 5-feet-6-inches tall with a 68-inch reach which means he gives up an inch in height to Donaire and a minimal half-inch in reach. He’s fought mainly against domestic opponents in the Philippines but this will be his fifth bout in America and reportedly trains in Miami. Most of his opponents are unrecognizable to the average boxing fan other than perhaps Rocky Alvarez, Bryan Sansom, Ernesto Guerrero and Yeison Vargas. He also beat Stephon Young by 12-round unanimous decision in 2018 for the interim WBA Bantamweight Title and once held the WBC Asian Boxing Council Super Bantamweight Title.
Prediction…
Donaire is 14 years older than Gaballo but still has plenty of power and speed at his age. He’s experienced at picking off opponents when they move into firing range with enough power do some damage but he’s also becoming a bit easier to hit as he gets older. Donaire has rebounded well from his poor outing against Carl Frampton a few years ago and looked tremendous against Inoue and Oubaali. Gaballo has a ton of power but has struggled a bit when stepping up in class. If Donaire performs the same way he did against Inoue and Oubaali he should win this fight, but that’s a big “If.” Still, while the head may lean towards Gaballo the heartstrings are going with Donaire.
