Nonito Donaire moves back to bantamweight to join World Boxing Super Series

At age 35, Nonito Donaire has made the decision to move back to the bantamweight division for the first time since 2011, as he’s joined the field for the upcoming 118-pound World Boxing Super Series tournament.

Donaire (38-5, 24 KO) fought at bantamweight for three bouts from 2010-11, beating Wladimir Sidorenko, Fernando Montiel, and Omar Narvaez. He won the WBC and WBO titles at the weight.

Most recently, he fought at featherweight, losing a decision to Carl Frampton on April 21.

“I’m really looking forward to the tournament. Entering the tournament gives me an opportunity to showcase my capabilities against the best in this division. This division is stacked with talent and that’s really exciting! I believe my size, experience and most of all my power will give me the edge over my opponents.”

It’ll be interesting to see, first of all, if he can comfortably make the weight and actually compete. If he can, he could be a wild card in the field, which is pretty stacked, including titleholders Ryan Burnett, Emmanuel Rodriguez, and Zolani Tete, plus it’s expected that Naoya Inoue will be officially announced soon. Jason Moloney will face Rodriguez in the only announced matchup in the first round.

Do you expect Nonito to be able to make any noise with this move, or is it simply too late?