Nonito Donaire woke up to good news this week when the WBA made him their top-ranked bantamweight contender, just two weeks after he lost a split decision to Seiya Tsutsumi in Tokyo. His wife and manager, Rachel, filed appeals with all four major sanctioning bodies right after that December 17 fight, and the WBA was the first to respond favorably.
Nonito Donaire vs Seiya Tsutsumi – The Numbers Tell a Different Story
The stats back up Donaire’s frustration with the judges’ scorecards. CompuBox had him out-landing Tsutsumi 79-64 in power shots while throwing more punches per round (59.7 to 54.3) and connecting at 29% power accuracy compared to Tsutsumi’s 22%. Two judges still gave it to Tsutsumi, with one scoring it a wide 117-111 that Rachel called “highly disrespectful” to the sport. The third judge saw it 116-112 for Donaire, which felt closer to what actually happened in the ring.
Tsutsumi’s Health Creates Uncertainty
But where things get complicated for everyone involved is when Tsutsumi, who stands at 13-0-1 with eight knockouts, spent nearly four hours in surgery after the fight to repair a broken nose and facial cuts. He’s supposed to defend against Antonio Vargas within 120 days, but nobody knows if his body will allow that timeline. Vargas and Tsutsumi have already swapped champion and champion-in-recess status twice this year without throwing a single punch at each other—first when Tsutsumi couldn’t heal from old injuries, then when Vargas faced personal tragedy and had to step aside.
The bantamweight division keeps boxing fans glued to the action, and online betting continues to surge as a result of these unpredictable storylines. Platforms accepting credit card payments remain a trusted choice for UK players who seek strong security, speed, and familiarity – whether you’re betting on football, horse racing, or following in-play markets during high-stakes fights like these.
Ioka Joins the 118lb Hunt
Donaire isn’t the only former four-division champion with his eyes on that bantamweight throne right now. Kazuto Ioka made his 118lb debut on New Year’s Eve and stopped Venezuela’s Maikel Ordosgoitti in four rounds with a devastating liver shot. The 36-year-old Japanese star, now 32-4-1 with 17 knockouts, immediately called out WBC titleholder Takuma Inoue and floated the idea of fighting on the undercard of Naoya Inoue versus Junto Nakatani this spring.
Nonito Donaire’s Legacy Keeps Growing
But the WBA title picture runs through Donaire now, and his resume speaks for itself. At 42, he’s already the oldest bantamweight champion in boxing history – twice over, having first set that record in 2018 and broken it again in 2021 when he knocked out Nordine Oubaali at 38. Nine world titles across four weight divisions and championships spanning three consecutive decades put him in rare company.
What stood out most from Tokyo was the visual contrast afterward – Donaire posed with his family days later, looking fresh while Tsutsumi headed straight to the operating room. The Filipino Flash sits at 43-9-0 with 28 knockouts, and he’s clearly still dangerous enough to send an unbeaten champion to surgery.
