Nonito Donaire will be making his ring return on March 28th against the Brazilian William Prado, who holds a record of 22 wins (15 via KO) and 4 losses. The fight will take place in the Philippines and the airing network is still to be announced. One of Prado’s losses was a third round KO defeat to Scott Quigg in 2013. Prado is coming off a 1st round knock out win over a hardly known fighter named Marcelo Bispo (0 wind, 1 loss) in April of 2014.
Nonito shouldn’t be scrutinized for the caliber of opposition chosen because he himself is coming off a 6th TKO loss to hard punching Nicholas Walters. Donaire fought Walters at Featherweight on the Golovkin Vs. Rubio undercard. Nicholas Walters with his size and power, easily took advantage of Donaire and ended his short reign as the WBA featherweight champ. So now Donaire has decided to move back to his comfortzone at bantamweight and hopes to make some noise.
If Donaire comes out of this as a winner, there are possibilities for him to win belts at bantamweight or make some decorative fights. One interesting fight that can be made is against Tomoki Kameda, the undefeated WBO champion who loves to mix it up. Donaire can also take the safe route and fight Randy Caballero for the IBF belt, who in my opinion, is less dangerous than Kameda. Either way, Donaire will be a threat for boxing in 2015..
Considering the tough fights Donaire went through with Rigondeaux, Darchiniyan and Walters, this fight seems to be a legit test to see what is left in Donaire. His performance against Prado can show us if Donaire is back as a legit contender or just going to be a stepping stone or a name on the record for other fighters.