Donaire stops French foe in 2

In a flash, Nonito Donaire Jr. stopped his opponent from France last night in Macau and primed himself up for another shot at the world super-bantamweight title.

The 33-year-old Donaire needed less than two rounds to crush Anthony Settoul at the Venetian Resort in Macau. The end came at the 1:41 mark of the second.

Donaire, a four-division world champion, had sent the Frenchman down twice, once on a body shot, before a right to the face put an end to the fight.

Settoul’s corner had seen enough and threw in the towel.

“Hopefully, a title shot,” Donaire said after the fight as the 2012 Fighter of the Year looked forward to regaining his glory days inside the ring.

The title shot may come later this year as he awaits the winner between Englishman Scott Quigg, the WBA champion at 122, and Spain’s Kiko Martinez this noon in Manchester.

It was the second straight knockout win for Donaire inside two rounds since he lost by knockout to Nicolas Walters in a featherweight title clash in California last October.

“We worked really hard for it. I have more than just one weapon,” Donaire, now 35-3 with 23 knockouts, said. Settoul dropped to 20-4.

Settoul couldn’t handle Donaire’s power and speed. He went down twice in the opening round but managed to beat the count.

By then, everybody knew it was just a matter of time.

Meanwhile, Arthur Villanueva of Bacolod gets a shot at the world title when he locks horns with McJoe Arroyo of Puerto Rico at the Don Haskins Convention Center in El Paso, Texas today.