Former four-division champion Nonito Donaire was surprised with the way the scoring turned out in his unanimous decision loss to newly crowned WBO super bantamweight king Jessie Magdaleno.

The “Filipino Flash” pointed out that the Mexican-American didn’t do enough to deserve the WBO crown.

“Alam kong panalo ako sa laban. Tumatakbo ka, hindi naman [halatang] tinalo mo ako,” Donaire said in an interview with Dyan Castillejo. (I know I won the fight. You were running, it didn’t appear that you beat me).

Magdaleno was seen controlling the second half of the bout, using body shots to wear down Donaire. The Mexican-American also connected vicious hooks that rendered the Filipino's left eye swollen.

Donaire managed to stagger Magdaleno with a right hand in the 10th, but the Mexican-American survived the onslaught.

Two of the judges saw it 116-112, while the third official had it 118-110. All of them favored Magdaleno.

“It was crazy to see the scorecards,” said Donaire. “’Pag tinamaan ako, tinamaan ko rin siya. Ilang beses ko siyang muntik ma-knock out.” (Every time he hit me, I hit him back. I nearly knocked him out several times.)

Donaire added that he should have stayed champion since it wasn’t a convincing victory for Magdaleno. “In order for you to be the champion you can't make it a close fight,” he said.

The Filipino Flash, however, have high hopes that they will be squaring off again in the near future. Donaire said Magdaleno has promised him a rematch.

“[He said] binigyan mo ako ng pagkakataon, I'll give you the opportunity,” according to Donaire. “(He said, ‘you’ve given me an opportunity, I’ll return the favor.’)

Questionable scoring

Several boxing analysts were also surprised by the 118-110 score given by one of the judges in the Donaire-Magdaleno bout.

Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports tweeted: "Amazing scores, I don't see 118-110. No way. I could see a Jessie Mag 115-113 win but he didn't win 10 of 12 rounds." (https://twitter.com/KevinI/status/795100303011901440)

Chris Mannix, also of Yahoo Sports, tweeted: "Magdaleno wins, and that's fine. But the 118-110 card submitted by Adalaide Byrd is pretty freaking ridiculous. No way was it that wide."

Forbes boxing writer Josh Katzowitz: "That 118-110 was Adelaide Byrd, right? Man, that is one brutally bad judge."

Bob Velin of USA Today Sports, said: "Magdaleno wins by scores of 116-112 twice and 118-110 and is the new WBO junior featherweight champ! 118-110?"

'Donaire waited too long'

Local fight analyst Ed Tolentino agreed with the observation that the scores should have been closer. However, he also thinks Donaire didn’t do enough to off set Magdaleno’s aggression.

“I did not see the fire in the eyes [of Donaire]. I thought he waited too long to tee off,” said Tolentino in an interview on ANC.

Tolentino believes Donaire may have miscalculated Magdaleno, who rarely reaches the last round.

“I thought Donaire gambled to take this fight into the championship rounds. Before the fight, Magdaleno has never fought up to the 12th round, so he dragged this fight into the championship round, hoping Magdaleno would be fatigued by then,” he said.

But it turned out, Magdaleno who sparred close to 400 rounds for this fight, was still in the thick of the fight even in the final rounds.

“A draw would have been acceptable, but it's tough to imagine Donaire winning the fight because I thought he was flat, the energy was missing, he waited too long,” said Tolentino.

Rematch?

Donaire seemed to have calmed down eventually.

In a post on his Facebook page, he thanked his fans "for giving all your love and energy."

He again toook a swipe at the judges, who "saw it differently," but quickly added: "It doesn't matter. It was yesterday and I'm going to celebrate life with the thousands who chanted for me. Tomorrow brings another day and we learn. Thank you God for keeping me safe."

He also addressed Magdaleno and hinted at a rematch.

"Let's dance again. Enjoy it, it'll be a fun rematch. But thank you for your honesty outside the ring," Donaire said.

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)