The great four-division world champion Nonito “Filipino Flash” Donaire will defend his WBA bantamweight title against late replacement Stephon Young on April 27 at the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana. The bout will be live streamed online through the DAZN USA app and in the UK on Sky Sports.
Donaire vs. Young is the co-main event to Regis Prograis vs. Kiryl Relikh, it is also a World Boxing Super Series bantamweight semi-final with the winner moving forward to the finals to claim the coveted Muhammad Ali Trophy.
Donaire (39-5, 25 KOs) is a future hall of famer who held belts at flyweight, bantamweight, super bantamweight and featherweight. For years he lived in the shadow of Filipino ring legend Manny Pacquiao but his accomplishments in boxing are enough to send him into the hall of fame.
At 36 years old when many lower weight fighters are retired, Donaire decided to drop down to 118 pounds. It was considered a dangerous move to go back down in weight especially after fighting as high as featherweight and walking around at 145 pounds.
The decision to drop down to 118 came after he lost to Carl Frampton at featherweight. Boxers like Roy Jones Jr who tried to drop down a few weight classes wound up affected by the weight cut and even knocked out.
Donaire proved people wrong by winning the WBA bantamweight title against Ryan Burnett in the opening round of the World Boxing Super Series tournament.
Donaire was originally scheduled to fight South African WBO champion Zolani Tete in a unification bout but Tete got injured right before fight week and was forced to withdraw from the WBSS competition.
On Monday Tete felt a pain in his shoulder while doing light pad work the pain persisted while he was sleeping in his room. The doctor examined his shoulder and said he had tendonitis and inflammation, Tete and his team decided to pull out because they felt if they were to fight a champion like Donaire they would need to be at 100 percent and would be at a great disadvantage with the shoulder issue.
Stephon Young (18-1-3, 7 KOs) of Saint Louis, Missouri, answered the call and became the late replacement for Tete.
For Young he sees this moment as his chance to shine and become a world boxing champion. Many times late replacements can cause trouble for the champion and in some cases even pull off a shocking upset.
Nonito Donaire vs Stephon Young on April 27, 2019 at 8:00 PM ET/PT Live streamed on DAZN (watch.dazn.com) in the US and on Sky Sports in the UK.
WBSS Prograis vs. Relikh / Donaire vs. Young Undercard Live Stream
YouTube video By DAZN USA
