Nonito Donaire’s first defense was a demonstration that he is back at the highest level. The Filipino retained his World Boxing Association (WBA) Super Bantamweight Championship with a six-round knockout of American Stephon Young at the Cajun Dome in Lafayette, Louisiana, to reach the World Boxing Super Series final (WBSS).

Donaire not only exhibited his power, but also asserted his intelligence during combat. In the first assaults, Young was much faster than the Asian and carried out counterattacks that impacted the champion’s humanity. However, “Filipino Flash” was deciphering little by little his challenger until getting comfortable in the confrontation and began to connect strong blows that were stopping the one from San Luis.

When he was already in control of the action, Donaire landed a combination of two punches in the sixth round, with a left hook connecting to the chin of Young that sent him to the canvas with no chance to recuperate. The referee decided not to count and declared the knockout in favor of the Filipino.

Now, Donaire is waiting for the winner of the bout between the Japanese native Naoya Inoue and the Dominican native Emmanuel Rodriguez, who will face off on May 18th for the remaining bout to the WBSS final. The champion left his record at 40 wins, 5 losses and 26 knockouts. On the other hand, Young was left with a balance of 18 wins, 2 losses, 3 draws and 7 wins via knockout.