Donaire: I ain’t done yet

Don’t be surprised if four-division legend Nonito Donaire ends up making a comeback even after his failed World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight title bid.

Moments after being handed a heartbreaking 12-round split decision loss by Seiya Tsutsumi on Wednesday in Tokyo, Donaire said that he is not closing the doors on lacing up once again.

“Yes, of course. But my queen (wife and trainer Rachel Donaire) is the one who makes all the decisions, so I’ll leave that to her. And as I said earlier, I don’t want to make history or anything; I step into the ring because I enjoy it from the bottom of my heart and with joy, so I want to cherish that joy,” Donaire said as quoted by NikkanSports.

Donaire, 43, won on one of the judges’ scoresheets, 116-112 but the two others had Tsutsumi on top, 115-113 and 117-111.

“I think we gave it our all and fought to the end. I think it was a fight we could have won. It was a tough fight, but I’d like to say congratulations to champion Tsutsumi. I’m also proud of my own performance,” said Donaire, whose win-loss-draw record slid to 43-9-0 with 28 knockouts.

Tsutsumi, 14 years younger, was almost knocked down towards the end of the fourth round when he got caught by Donaire’s right.

Knowing that his foe was badly hurt, Donaire attempted to go for the kill but the referee stepped in at the sound of the bell ending the round.

Tsutsumi even walked on unsteady legs on his way back to his corner while his right hand was holding the top rope.

But that moment proved to be one that made Tsutsumi become a better fighter as he gained control of the remainder with volume punching and aggressiveness.

While he got hit several more times by Donaire, Tsutsumi took them all.

“He was a very tough opponent. He got so many blisters, and they popped during the fight. What’s more, all four of his fingers were injured. That’s how much punches he took. But he was tough enough not to go down. I think that toughness is the reason he won today,” Donaire added.