MANILA, Philippines – Tiyak na ang pagbabalik ni dating world champion Nonito ‘The Filipino Flash’ Donaire, Jr. sa junior featherweight (super bantamweight) division.
ito ang pagkumpirma ni Cameron Dunkin, ang agent ni Donaire, sa panayam ng ESPN.com.
"That's what we are trying to do, and he's going to fight at 122 (pounds)," wika ni Dunkin sa pagbabalik ni Donaire sa junior featherweight class matapos lumaban ng tatlong beses sa featherweight division.
"We've talked about it, but don't know who we are going to fight yet."
Sa kanyang pagsabak sa featherweight category ay nagtala si Donaire ng 2-1 record matapos talunin sina Vic Darchinyan at Simpiwe Vetyeka noong nakaraang taon.
Pinabagsak si Donaire ni Jamaican star Nicholas Walters noong Oktubre.
Sa kabila ng kabiguan kay Walters ay may apoy pa rin sa mga mata ng tubong Talibon, Bohol.
"Nonito wants to fight, and we'll get him fighting again," wika ni Dunkin kay Donaire. "He knows he can't fight at that weight (126 pounds)."
"He can beat a lot of featherweights, don't get me wrong. But he's used to beating everyone and being the best. He's going back to 122, where he can do that," dagdag pa nito.
Dinomina ni Donaire ang junior featherweight division noong 2012 kung kailan niya magkakasunod na pinatulog sina Toshiaki Nishioka ng Japan at Jorge Arce ng Mexico para hirangin bilang ‘2012 Fighter of the Year’.
Naisuko naman ni Donaire ang kanyang korona kay Guillermo Rigondeaux ng Cuba noong 2013 sa kanyang huling laban sa junior featherweight class.
Matapos ito ay umakyat siya sa featherweight kung saan siya nanalo kina Darchinyan at Vetyeka bago napabagsak ni Walters.
Sinabi ni Dunkin na hindi talaga niya pinaboran ang pag-angat ni Donaire sa featherweight .
"I was against it. Those guys are so big, but he said, 'Don't worry, I'll take care of it.' And he did. He won some fights at 126, but he didn't look like the Nonito we were used to," wika ni Dunkin.
"After (the Walters fight) was over, he said, 'You're right, I can't fight these guys at 126,” dagdag pa nito.