[ad_1]
FILE – CWBO Junior Featherweight Champion Nonito Donaire of the Philippines performs in the ring prior to his title defense against Jessie Magdaleno at the Thomas & Mack Center on November 5, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Christian Petersen / Getty Images / AFP
MANILA, Philippines – Nonito Donaire tested positive for COVID-19 and withdrew from his WBC bantamweight world title fight against Emmanuel Rodriguez, he reportedly said in a report on BoxingScene.
This was the second time Donaire appeared in a fight canceled due to COVID-19 after his original enemy, Nordine Oubaali, the WBC champion on hiatus, also withdrew from the fight after testing positive for the virus.
Donaire and Rodriguez were supposed to fight for the WBC 118-pound title on December 19 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut on the Showtime undercard.
Donaire, 38 (40-6, 26 KOs) is coming off a decision loss to pound-for-pound number 2 fighter Naoya Inoue in November 2019 in what was seen as one of the best fights for the Filipino in the last part of his historic career.
A four division world champion, Donaire is on a career revival and has held the WBA Super World bantamweight title before losing to Inoue in the WBA-WBC championship unification fight.
Showtime could advance the card, according to Boxing Scene, with Rodriguez in the main event against the Filipino Reymart Gaballo.
Undefeated Gaballo (23-0, 20 KOs) was originally scheduled to fight José Velásquez (28-6-2, 19 KOs) of Chile, but could be carried into the main event of the triple header.
It is not yet clear whether the WBC will sanction the Rodriguez-Gaballo fight as a title fight, as the Filipino is ranked 26th in the sanctioning body’s bantamweight ranking and, based on those listings, he will not be eligible for his title. 118 lbs.
Oubaali, who never lost the WBC title, was named champion of the sanctioning body in the break when he pulled out of his fight against Donaire, but will have the option of making a title defense in February or facing the winner between Donaire and Rodriguez in his next fight.
For more news on the new coronavirus, click here.
What you need to know about the coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
The Inquirer Foundation supports our leaders in healthcare and still accepts cash donations to be deposited into the Banco de Oro (BDO) checking account # 007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link .
Read next
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer and more than 70 other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download from 4am and share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
For comments, complaints or inquiries, please contact us.
[ad_2]
