Legendary Filipino boxer, Nonito Donaire, defended his Junior Featherweight Championship tonight at the Pacquiao-Vargas boxing event in Las Vegas, Nevada against Jessie Magdelano. He had a familiar figure in his corner, as the former WWE Superstar Dave Batista accompanied Donaire to the ring for his fight.
Fellow Filipino Manny Pacquiao headlined the card, as he battled Jessie Vargas in a quest to regain the Welterweight championship which he lost last year in a much-hyped clash against Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather.
Here is an image of The Animal from the event, standing behind Donaire:
Batista has been conspicuously absent from the professional wrestling scene for more than two years. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion was last seen inside the WWE ring, in June of 2014. Batista has been taking huge strides in the world of show business, as his Hollywood career seems to be flourishing.
After playing the role of Drax The Destroyer in the movie Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014), Batista is set to reprise his role as the Marvel character in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 which is set for a May 2017 release. Batista also made an appearance in the James Bond movie, Spectre (2015), playing the role of an assassin in the spy film.
He is presently in the midst of filming another movie, Blade Runner 2.
Batista has expressed pride in his Filipino ancestry and is noted for supporting Filipino boxers and fighter. This isn’t the first time that Batista has accompanied Nonito Donaire to the ring for his bout. Batista acted as the flag-bearer for the Filipino Flash twice in 2013, once in New York City on Aprl 13th and then on 9th November in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The actor also escorted the iconic Manny Pacquiao to the ringside prior to a fight in 2009 and here is the video from the event:
His appearance on Saturday night, hoisting the featherweight belt in the background, didn’t come as a surprise as Batista is a good friend of Nonito Donaire.
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