I'm not sure though if Donaire is thinking retirement, I never heard from him telling the public about his plans. Even after Inoue knock him out, he still want to chase greatness at 115 lbs against Estrada, but now he chance his plans.
He still wants to fight, but I believe he mentioned that he wants to retire as a champion, so he would like to get a belt again, and with what happened. I don't know anymore if Donaire can still have a championship fight soon, seems like the chance is not fair for older fighters nowadays.
Perhaps we should give him like 2-3 years to fight or less than that before he thinks of hanging his gloves for good.
But right now, the opportunity is there so why not take it.
But he cannot wait longer, he needs to be active to have more fights and to test himself if he still can dominate in this division.
I haven't seen a boxer who quit on top though, I mean if he becomes a champion again, I doubt he will just say's no I don't want to fight again. So obviously, it's up to the result of his next fight, whether it will be against someone like Rodriguez or Gaballo.
2-3 years might be quite long enough for his career, he is already 40 years old, and once a fighter reaches that age, sooner or later his body will be very different because of the effect, the wear and tear of being in this business for many years.
You are right, there's a lot of opportunity when you are a champion, so why would a boxer retire? It doesn't make sense, if he does really say it, then I think he has a different mindset, he values his achievement more than the money he will potentially get in future fights. Of course, there are boxers who retires during their peak, just like Mayweather.
If he retires then he might lose millions of dollars in the bag since he cannot get that anymore if he decide not to take fights. So I think what he did right now is a smart move since while still he can keep accumulating while there are still big offers to you and he can make his future more secure with that. Maybe its better for OP to close this thread now since Donaire vs Moloney is no longer happening and there's nothing to discuss about more further updates regarding this match.
Well, it's a matter of decision, what happens is that everything revolves around money and not in favor of the sport, that is something that will always be noticed and more so in boxing because of the amount of money that is handled.
Our body at a certain age is not the same, it becomes very slow, it does not react as the athlete wants, but obviously we must not stop training, so that the body has a respectable level.
A young boxer will obviously have many more advantages, but the weakness will be in the lack of experience, and therein lies the clear opportunity that Nonito has to win, it is logical, this applies to any sport, the boxing federation should take advantage of the desire he has Nonito of fighting, he is motivated, they should support this initiative.
But not everything is bad:
Nonito Donaire-Alexandro Santiago Approved For Vacant WBC Title; Date, Location TBABoxingScene,com has confirmed that the WBC has approved a vacant bantamweight title fight between Donaire and Mexico’s Alexandro Santiago. The pairing would satisfy the terms of the two highest ranked available contenders vying for one of the four titles left behind by former undisputed champ Naoya Inoue.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman revealed the development during a recent interview with ESPN Knockout, confirming a February 1 news break by BoxingScene.com stating that Santiago was likely next to land the title shot.
Source:
https://www.boxingscene.com/nonito-donaire-alexandro-santiago-approved-vacant-wbc-title-date-location-tba--172526