Future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire is set to face the Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue in a bantamweight unification match at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on June 7.
Inoue expressed his excitement about the much-anticipated rematch on his Instagram post on Wednesday evening.
“Rematch three years after WBSS Finals. Expect a greater fight than the last time!!” followed by a hashtag #DramaInSaitama2.
Inoue’s World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation belts and Donaire’s World Boxing Council title are all on the line line for their second encounter.
The first time these two superstars met was back in November of 2019 at the World Boxing Super Series at the same venue in Saitama where the Japanese star was crowned victorious via 116-111, 117-109, and 114-113 unanimous decision victory.
That fight was also hailed as that year’s Fight of the Year.
After the fight in 2019, Inoue (22-0, 19 KOs), known as “The Monster”, continued dominating the bantamweight division to defend his belts, beating Jason Maloney, Michael Dasmarinas, and Aran Diapen all in by way of knockout
Donaire (42-6, 28 KOs), on his part, continued to impress despite his age.
The Filipino Flash defeated Nordine Oubaali back in May 2021 which made him the oldest bantamweight champion in boxing history at the age of 39.
In his first title defense, Donaire defeated compatriot Reymart Gaballo back in December of 2021.
