Sports

Nonito Donaire Wins Major World Boxing Title

The boxer, whose family hails from San Leandro, is often likened to Manny Pacquiao.

 

World-famous professional boxer Nonito Donaire pulled off a major coup Saturday night when he beat IBF (International Boxing Federation) champion Jeffrey Mathebula to unify his WBO (World Boxing Federation) belt with the IBF belt and emerge the super bantamweight champion.

Donaire is reportedly only the second Asian boxer in history, after Manny Pacquiao, to hold titles in four different divisions.

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Donaire's family hails from San Leandro and he attended .

The fight, which took place at the Home Depot Center in Carson City, Calif., was broadcast on HBO's Boxing After Dark show.

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Donaire won the event with scores of 119-108, 118-109 and 117-110.

Donaire, known as the "Filipino Flash," is considered one of the world's "top five pound-for-pound" boxers, and to beat Mathebula, considered one of the top 10 boxers in the world, is a major victory.

Donaire currently resides in San Mateo.

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