After former four-division titleholder Nonito Donaire got knocked down twice and badly knocked out by Nicholas Walters in the sixth round on Oct. 18, a loss that cost him his featherweight world title, he said he would continue his career but return to the junior featherweight division. Now that ring return is set.

Donaire, who moved to the United States as a child and grew up in Northern California, will fight in his native Philippines for only the fourth time in his career, and for the first time since 2009, when he faces William Prado on March 28 at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, just south of Manila.

Although the scheduled 10-round bout has been in the works for some time, there was also a possibility that Donaire would fight in May in Macau, China. But Donaire manager Cameron Dunkin told ESPN.com the deal for the March fight has been agreed to and that he had received the contracts for the fight on Wednesday. Top Rank, Donaire's longtime promoter, is not involved in promoting the fight but readily gave him permission to accept the bout.

"I'm excited to be back at 122 pounds," said Donaire, who is training with his father, Nonito Donaire Sr., in Oakland, California. "I'm hoping the training to be at 122 will bring me more speed and power. This camp has been different. I have been in training since December, so I've been in shape longer and working on more boxing instead of the usual eight weeks only of camp."

Donaire (33-3, 21 KOs), 32, the consensus 2012 fighter of the year, has won world titles at 112, 118, 122 and 126 pounds, as well as an interim belt at 115 pounds. But in the 126-pound featherweight division, where Donaire boxed three times, he had problems in each fight.

In November 2013, the "Filipino Flash" struggled badly against Vic Darchinyan, whom he had knocked out to win flyweight title in 2007. Donaire had to rally for a ninth-round knockout in their rematch. In his next featherweight bout, Donaire won a world title by fifth-round technical decision in May against Simpiwe Vetyeka, whom he knocked down but looked flat against. And then came the harsh knockout loss to Walters.

"Nonito is very determined to re-establish his career and he believes 122 pounds is the perfect weight for him," Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said.

Said Dunkin, "Nonito is training very hard. He has his weight down and he can't wait to fight again. Nonito is an extremely proud guy, a great fighter, and that really hurt going up in weight and losing and he couldn't wait to get back in there. He's motivated. That loss to Walters woke him up. He wants to show that he can still fight and I think he can. He trained hard for Walters but the guy was too big and too strong and he realizes that."

Donaire's wife, Rachel, who handles his business along with Dunkin and is a fixture at his bouts, will not make the trip to the Philippines for the fight, Dunkin said, because she is due with the couple's second child in late May.

Prado (22-4-1, 15 KOs), 31, of Brazil, lost back-to-back fights in 2012 and has a thin resume but has won three of his four fights since. The loss during that stretch came by third-round knockout to England's Scott Quigg, who won a version of the junior featherweight world title in his next bout.

In the main event of the March 28 card, junior flyweight titleholder Donnie Nietes (34-1-4, 20 KOs), 32, of the Philippines, will make his sixth defense when he faces Luis Ceja (26-5-3, 21 KOs), 24, of Mexico.