After KO win, Walters calls Donaire 'a super great boxer, a tough champion'

Nicholas Walters may have handed Nonito Donaire the first knockout defeat of the Filipino Flash's career, but the unbeaten Jamaican fighter maintained his respect for his vanquished foe after the bout.

"This victory didn't just come like that. We worked hard. Knowing that we were fighting Donaire, we knew it would be tough work, because he's a super great boxer, a tough champion," Walters said in his post-fight interview.

"I respect him. He caught me early on. He had power and speed. He was good. I thank Donaire for giving me this opportunity so I can display my talent to HBO and the world."

Walters dominated the veteran Donaire, but had testy moments in the second round after getting rocked with the Filipino's trademark left hook.

"I got a little bit confident. I said, I'm gonna overpower him, and he caught me with a good shot, boom! I went to my corner and my coach was all excited, and I said, no, no, calm down. I recuperated. But it was a good shot. He caught me clean."

Donaire, meanwhile, used colorful language to describe his loss.

"He knocked the f--ing s-- out of me," Donaire said. "He's an amazing fighter. I'm getting older, but I'm not taking anything from Walters. I was at my best. I've never trained this hard. I've never, ever trained this hard. He came out as tough as I thought he would be. Just the size that he had over me, I couldn't move. He just overwhelmed me and knocked the s-- out of me." — JST, GMA News/Jayson Nino Otamias