Donaire vs Masuda

Who won Donaire vs Masuda?

Riku Masuda beat Nonito Donaire by technical knockout in the 8th round on Sunday, March 15th, 2026, at Yokohama Buntai, Yokohama.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 10 rounds in the Bantamweight division, which meant the weight limit was 118 pounds (8.4 stone or 53.5 kg).

This contest was a final eliminator for the WBA bantamweight championship of the world.

Also on the undercard Anthony Olascuaga beat Jukiya Iimura for the WBO World Flyweight championship, Thammanoon Niyomtrong was overcome by Shokichi Iwata for the WBC World Light Flyweight belt, and Ryusei Matsumoto was victorious over Yuni Takada for the WBA World Minimumweight title.

Donaire vs Masuda stats

Nonito Donaire stepped into the ring with a record of 43 wins, 9 losses, and 0 draws.

Riku Masuda made his way to the ring with a record of 9 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws.

Nonito Donaire was the older man by 15 years, at 43 years old.

Masuda had a height advantage of 1 inch over Donaire. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

Nonito Donaire fought out of the orthodox stance, while Riku Masuda was a southpaw.

Donaire was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 42 more fights, and made his debut in 2001, 21 years and 4 months earlier than Masuda, whose first professional fight was in 2022. He had fought 289 more professional rounds, totaling 340 compared to Masuda's 51.

Nonito Donaire went into the fight ranked number 1 by the WBA, 7 by the WBO, and 8 by the IBF at bantamweight.

Riku Masuda was ranked number 4 by the WBA, 5 by the WBC, 6 by the WBO, and 4 by the IBF in the 118lb division.

Donaire vs Masuda form

Donaire had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Seiya Tsutsumi on December 17, 2025, by split decision in their WBA World Bantamweight championship fight at Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan.

Prior to that, he had defeated Andres Campos on June 14, 2025, by split decision in the 9th round in their WBA Interim World Bantamweight championship fight at Casino Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Alejandro Santiago on July 29, 2023, by unanimous decision in their WBC World Bantamweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Before that, he had lost to Naoya Inoue on June 7, 2022, by technical knockout in the 2nd round in their WBC World Bantamweight, WBA Super World Bantamweight and IBF World Bantamweight championship fight at Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

He had beaten Reymart Gaballo on December 11, 2021, by knockout in the 4th round in their WBC World Bantamweight championship fight at Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, United States.

Activity check

Donaire's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 3 months and 4 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 10 months and 7 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 39 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 7.8 rounds on average.

Masuda's last 3 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 6 months and 13 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 5 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 16 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 5.3 rounds on average.

What time did Donaire vs Masuda start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 11:00 AM UTC at Yokohama Buntai, Yokohama, Japan, which was 7:00 AM EST or 4:00 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 11:00 AM GMT in the UK.

What were the odds on Donaire vs Masuda?

Nonito Donaire was a 81/50 (+160) underdog going into the contest, while Riku Masuda made his way into the ring at 2/5 (-250) with oddsmakers.