"Filipino Flash" Nonito Donaire was victorious against Mexican boxer Cesar Juarez in their slugfest last Saturday that ended in an epic unanimous decision win for the Filipino boxer.
During the early stretch of the match, Donaire looked to have had the upper hand as he was able to knock-down his opponent in the fourth round.
However, things got a little bit rough for Donaire after stepping on the foot of the referee which caused an injury as well as preventing him from using his full speed and power.
"I stepped on the foot of the referee. It was so fast because I pushed forward, because I was trying to counter back. When I stepped in, he went inside and it pulled a muscle inside (the left foot)," Donaire told Dyan Castillejo of ABS-CBN News.
"The problem with that is I can't be on my toes, so I can't use my power," he added. "I was all arms and all shoulders. I was fighting with my arms and with my shoulders. I wasn't fighting with my feet like I planned in sparring."
Nevertheless, he just had enough to sustain his energy to finish the fight. Donaire also praised his opponent for a job well done and doesn't want to think that the Mexican only lasted because he was injured.
"I'm not taking anything away from the guy," Donaire referring to Juarez. "The guy was amazingly tough."
Meanwhile, Bob Arum also commended Donaire's performance and now that he's back to being a champion, the promoter said that they will probably be able to get him a bigger fight next year but a Juarez rematch is still a possibility.
"Tremendous fight," Arum said via ABS-CBN. "Donaire showed a lot of courage (in) fighting a very tough guy.... Great performance, gutsy performance."
"Now he's back on top, he's a champion, we're gonna build from there. Hopefully, we'll have some real big fights for him next year."
