‘Japanese Monster’ smothers Donaire

And now, with tears in my eyes, I am humbly asking Inoue if I could borrow it for a night.

NONITO Donaire (right) suffers a setback to Naoya Inoue of Japan. AFP

Nonito Donaire Jr. made a gallant stand, but still fell short as Japanese sensation Naoya Inoue emerged with a unanimous decision victory in their World Boxing Super Series bantamweight title unification bout late Thursday at the Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Climbing the ring as the World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight champion, Donaire got knocked down in the 11th round, but quickly restored order to cling on to dear life and last the distance.

The United States-based Filipino puncher, who is 10 years younger than the Japanese ring supremo, faded in the scorecards — 111-116, 109-117 and 113-114 – that gave Inoue the International Boxing Federation and WBA super and regular bantamweight crown and the prestigious Muhammad Ali trophy.

Donaire, however, was gracious in defeat, humbly asking his tormentor to borrow the Muhammad Ali title for his sons to see.

“I came to Japan to take the Muhammad Ali trophy. I promised my sons that they would see it in the morning,” Donaire posted on his social media account few hours after the fight.

“And now, with tears in my eyes, I am humbly asking Inoue if I could borrow it for a night, not for me, but for my word.”

“It will be a life lesson my boys will soon learn: That you did your best but you came up short. You will win. You will lose. But in either aspect, you will do so graciously. It will pain them to see my face. They will kiss my wounds.”

Inoue, the 26-year-old star dubbed as the “Japanese Monster,” suffered a cut on his right eyelid and a busted nose as the 37-year-old Donaire battered him with good head and body punches to keep the match interesting.

But that was Donaire’s last hurrah as the hometown hero floored him with body shots in the 11th round.

Although Donaire managed to hang on, it was very obvious that Inoue, who won 16 of his 19 matches by way of knockout, was the better fighter.