Nonito Donaire, Jr. Defeats Jeffrey Mathebula, Unifies Titles

Nonito Donaire, Jr. vs Jeffrey Mathebula Results

Nonito Donaire, Jr. has won via unanimous decision over Jeffrey Mathebula, unifying the WBO and IBF super bantamweight titles.

"The Filipino Flashed" knocked down his South African foe with a vicious left hook in the fourth round of the IBF match held Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila) at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. It was the first time in his career that Mathebula has been down.

"He (Mathebula) didn’t expect it (knockdown). After that he kept his hands up," Donaire said.

However, Mathebula used his 4½-inch height advantage and a tremendous work rate to keep the bout competitive.

"It was tough. He got me off the jab really well," Donaire said. "That jab really took me out of my power range. He's a great champion. He wouldn't let me get in there and let me work."

In the 11th round, a hard right hand from Donaire appeared to hurt Mathebula. It was later disclosed that he had a cracked tooth, which caused him to bleed from the mouth over the last two rounds.

The Judges scored the bout 117-110, 118-109 and 119-108 in favor of Donaire, who racked up his 28th straight win.

With his latest victory, the four-division champion Donaire has improved his record to 29-1 with 18 knockouts while Mathebula is now 26-4-2 with 14 KOs.