Nonito Donaire finally looked his age.
Alexandro Santiago outworked the 40-year-old former four-division beltholder to win a unanimous decision and the vacant WBC 118-pound title on the Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. card Saturday in Las Vegas.
The official scores were 116-112, 116-112 and 115-113. Boxing Junkie also scored it 116-112 for Santiago, eight rounds to four.
Donaire (42-8, 28 KOs) was hoping to win his 10th major title and become the oldest current champion. However, he’s not what he was.
The Filipino-American was competitive but he was a step behind his Mexican opponent for most of the fight. The first several rounds were roughly even but Santiago began to dominate from around the fifth round on, fighting behind his jab and landing combinations consistently while taking little in return.
Santiago (28-3-5, 14 KOs) simply beat Donaire to the punch over and over again and outlanded him.
Donaire’s best moment came in Round 3, when he rocked Santiago with his legendary left hook. However, Santiago also proved to be resilient: He survived that punch and was never seriously hurt afterward.
Thus, no one was surprised when it was announced that Santiago had become a world titleholder for the first time by a unanimous decision.
What a moment for Alexandro Santiago 🙌
He becomes a champ for the first time taking down Donaire via unanimous decision.#DonaireSantiago #SpenceCrawford
Order: https://t.co/lcYztq3zt7 pic.twitter.com/6FUmllFc0S
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) July 30, 2023
Donaire was coming off a second-round knockout loss against Naoya Inoue in June of last year, meaning he has now lost back-to-back fights for the first time in his decorated career.
He said afterward that he would consult with his team before deciding whether to fight again but he didn’t sound like a fighter who intends to quit.
Meanwhile, Santiago, who turned pro at 16 years old, was emotional after finally claiming a major belt in his second title fight. He fought to a draw against then-115-pound champion Jerwin Ancajas in 2018.
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