Nonito Donaire's return is a huge opportunity for Andres Campos to write Chilean boxing history

Yahoo

2 days ago

You've heard the one about the fortysomething-year-old from the Philippines making an ill-advised return to the ring, jumping straight into a title shot after years of inactivity, right?
No no, not that one, but the man monikered the 'Filipino Flash': Nonito Donaire.
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Donaire (42-8, 28 KOs) hasn't been seen inside a competitive ring since July 2023, when he suffered the eighth loss of his career in pretty comprehensive fashion — albeit tight on the scorecards — against Alexandro Santiago in Las Vegas. Santiago lost his two subsequent fights to Junto Nakatani and Jose Calderon Cervantes, adding extra context to the level Donaire is at now in his 43rd year.
Yet 686 days after that setback to Santiago, the former four-weight world champion suddenly finds himself next in line off of the veteran conveyor belt, meeting Chile's Andres Campos (17-2-1, 6 KOs) for the WBA's interim world championship at bantamweight.
A casino in Buenos Aires is the obvious choice for this unforeseen comeback, headlining a principled weekend of action sanctioned by the WBA and entitled the 'KO to Drugs Festival,' but such is the whack-a-mole nature of boxing, that in attempting to combat one issue this event produces another — throwing an aging Donaire into an interim title opportunity despite not winning a bout since 2021.
Oh, and before we move on, it's against a contender in Campos who has campaigned at either flyweight or super flyweight across his past eight contests, not touching the scales at bantamweight since a 2022 win over Javier Martinez — the only other time he has fought in Argentina.
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As much as we criticize the decisions of the sanctioning bodies, it's something that the fighters have little control over; they'd be foolish to pass up on the opportunities that — in this case the WBA — deemed as deserved. And challenger Andres Santos confirmed these thoughts speaking to Uncrowned the eve before Saturday night's bout.
'It would be crazy not to take this opportunity,' he explained. 'As a team we are calm, happy and feel more prepared than I ever have coming into a fight.
'It's been very easy to get motivated for this fight. Nonito Donaire is my idol and I grew up watching his fights, so it's a dream to be given the opportunity to share a ring with him. There is a saying: 'Train so hard until your idols become your rivals,' and that's exactly what has happened to me."
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Chile's boxing history is littered with near-misses and what-could-have-beens. In 1982, super featherweight Benedicto Villablanca was recognized as a world champion by the WBA for a mere 20 days — before his win over Puerto Rican Samuel Serrano was overturned due to an adjudged head-butt by the Chilean, seeing him stripped of the only full title the nation can claim to have laid its hands on. Villablanca went on to fight another 11 times, including a first-round knockout loss to Roger Mayweather a year later, eventually retiring with a 34-11 record.
And then there were Arturo Godoy and Martin Vargas, arguably considered the nation's two greatest fighting exports.
Godoy, who contested a staggering 128 fights between his professional years of 1930-52, lost twice to the great Joe Louis, both in New York City for the heavyweight championship of the world. Vargas, now 70 years old, had four bites at the world championship cherry in the flyweight division, coming up short to the likes of Miguel Canto, Betulio Gonzalez and Yoko Gushiken.
Joe Louis defeated Arturo Godoy via eighth-round TKO in their 1940 heavyweight title rematch.
(Bettmann via Getty Images)
Campos is well aware of his country's boxing history and knows that a win over Donaire will springboard him into a position to become a national icon.
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'The entire country of Chile is looking forward to this fight,' he explained. 'Fighting so close to my country in Argentina means so many fans can make the short journey to Buenos Aires, and that is going to be a huge help for me.
'We know that Donaire is not in his peak now. He is in his 40s so we aren't expecting the very best version of him on Saturday, but I need to be at my best to beat him. We would never underestimate him due to the amount of experience he has in the sport, but we've prepared all we can to get the victory.'
Campos is no stranger to the limelight. The 28-year-old traveled to London in 2023 to challenge Sunny Edwards for the world flyweight title, eventually coming up short in what was a spirited display on away soil against a tricky operator. The Chilean has gone 2-1-1 with two stoppage wins since that defeat, and is humble enough to recognize that timing is everything in boxing.
'If I took this fight a few years back, then I am not sure I would have won,' he said candidly. 'But now I have more experience; I am sharp, fast and am at my absolute career peak.'
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Saturday's winner will be in line to face the winner of Antonio Vargas vs. Daigo Higa, taking place on July 30 in Japan, for the WBA's full bantamweight title. Donaire's first world title came in 2007, but it's Campos who will be looking ahead, rather than behind, hopeful to land the maiden strap for his nation.
Whatever you think of this weekend's bizarrely staged event in Buenos Aires, you'd need to have a heart of stone to try and diminish any possible success that Campos, particularly, could've achieved as the dust settles in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
'If I win, the opportunities for me are endless," he said. "Next week, I want people to be walking around talking about Andres Campos and his team from Chile, achieving the unthinkable.'