Rigondeaux is on the slide

6 and a half inch height disadvantage, 20lb weight disadvantage, 3 inch reach disadvantage. Rigondeaux wins by TKO. "Rigo not the same, he's declining." To put it into perspective, do you guys realize that Rigondeaux fought a Welterweight while being a Featherweight, and knocked him out? And for his battle scars, he was merely knocked down two times over 11 rounds with that relative giant. Let's say you are not impressed because Amagasa is a C level fighter, can you picture any other top 10 P4P fighter knocking out a C level fighter who is 6 inches taller, 20lbs heavier on fight night, and has at least 3 inches on reach? Name the boxer, and name the C level fighter with similar physical attributes that he can KO.

That guy Amagasa he last fought is 5'11" for f's sake and he was stopped by the smaller, much, much shorter Rigondeaux. Do you know how tall is Rigondeaux? He's 5'4". That's like a child vs a man, and the child won. Look how he left his face too. Amagasa came in to the ring at 145lbs also, Rigo came in the 120s. Dropping Rigo twice was the least he could do with that massive height/weight/reach advantage as well having good power. Put Rigo in vs someone his size in a fair match and watch him put on a great performance.

The guy I seen vs Amagasa, Idc about his size, that guy was merely a shell of what he was before. Where the hell have his feints gone? Where is that footwork? Why is he becoming more and more upright? He is starting to look more and more like a good yet pretty bog standard Lara. Probably he was not motivated enough to prepare properly for that fight. I think we should wait for his next fight with a big name and then make such conclusions.

Beaten around the ring? :lol1:this guy thinks that a kd is a beating...

we can see things in a round of sparring. it's tough to "tell" anything about a fighter from a single round of sparring. he may have been trying to work on countering right hands, for example. he'd be getting close and trying to get his guy to throw the right hand. i do think rigondeaux looked a bit aged agaisnt the japanese fella. after 400 amateur fights, a tiny little dude like that is going to be on the physical downslide in his 30's. it's just he way it is. rigondeaux may also be older than he says he is. lots of the best cuban baseball players are a heck of a lot older than they report, for example. it raises their stock in their youth to appear to be talented beyond their years.That happened with El Duque Hernandez and Contreras, after that the Cuban government started to release the real age of deserting players, so they couldn't get the 'big" money, you can trace back Rigondeaux age and it is the real one, what I think is that he needs motivation, that is all...

Freddie Roach said those comments about 5 years back when Rigo was still young and more fresher. If Loma is too win it will be a combination of skill and size. A lot think Rigo's style is all kinds of wrong for Lomachenko I feel it could well be the opposite especially a Rigo at an advanced age. If he can't command Lomachenko's respect and control the range and tempo, he losses that fight. I don't care who you are, how good you are, how much you look after yourself, 400 amateur fights are going to take their tole. He is 35, that is old, very old for a SBW who relies heavily on reflexes. Its not just Amagasa's size or the knockdowns that bother me, I think Rigo looked quite poor by his standards. He looked a lot slower, his punches didn't seem to have the same snap (could put it somewhat down to Amagasa's size). I don't like this more flat-footed, static look either. What happened to all that side-to-side movement? I can not shake that performance or that training video I seen. The video was in prep for that Asian dude he two-pieced, you can't take anything from that fight it was so short. Even in sparring he is seemingly getting hit more and more; we can see things in a round of sparring. it's tough to "tell" anything about a fighter from a single round of sparring. he may have been trying to work on countering right hands, for example. he'd be getting close and trying to get his guy to throw the right hand. i do think rigondeaux looked a bit aged agaisnt the japanese fella. after 400 amateur fights, a tiny little dude like that is going to be on the physical downslide in his 30's. it's just he way it is. rigondeaux may also be older than he says he is. lots of the best cuban baseball players are a heck of a lot older than they report, for example. it raises their stock in their youth to appear to be talented beyond their years.

I agree with this assessment however, I don't like how he reacts when he gets hit. I am not sure if he is stunned or just plating mind games with his opponent trying to let him know he is not hurt. I have seen him stick his head out there when hurt and drop his hands time after time. So far he has gotten away with it. Not sure what to think. Yeah he is definitely easily stunned. He has recovered pretty quick so far though. I think he likes to reestablish control very quickly after being hit or hurt. He did it time after time in the Donaire fight where Donaire would land a shot and Rigo would come right back to land his own as quickly as possible. The putting his hands down and sticking his chin out is probably a part of that.

Apart from Donaire he has barely fought anybody in the top 30 in his division. I think Donaire was slipping a little anyway and he got him at a good time but it's still a good win. Apart from that he has basically been slapped around the ring at times and dropped by guys who are C/D level fighters. I never understood the love-in for Rigo. He has some very nice skills no doubt but people think he is one of the best fighters in boxing. There's no way guys like Mayweather, Ward, GGG, Kovalev, Gonzelez etc..would be beaten around the ring by fighter as bad as some of whose who did it to Rigondeaux. Skilful, yes but one of the best p4p best? no, not even close. Beating Donaire and a load of journeymen in the other fights does not warrant being labeled one of the p4p best. Beaten around the ring? :lol1:

He's a 34 year old bantamweight. That's ancient in boxing terms.

Apart from Donaire he has barely fought anybody in the top 30 in his division. I think Donaire was slipping a little anyway and he got him at a good time but it's still a good win. Apart from that he has basically been slapped around the ring at times and dropped by guys who are C/D level fighters. I never understood the love-in for Rigo. He has some very nice skills no doubt but people think he is one of the best fighters in boxing. There's no way guys like Mayweather, Ward, GGG, Kovalev, Gonzelez etc..would be beaten around the ring by fighter as bad as some of whose who did it to Rigondeaux. Skilful, yes but one of the best p4p best? no, not even close. Beating Donaire and a load of journeymen in the other fights does not warrant being labeled one of the p4p best.

I dont think he has slipped that much. The flaws he showed recently against Amagassa are the same ones he had when he got hurt vs Marroquin and Donaire. Namely hands too low due to overconfidence and lapse in concentration. Athletically he isnt as good as he was at amateur level but hes still plenty good enough for everyone at 122. 126 is a bit different but i still think he would be one of the best in the division. I agree with this assessment however, I don't like how he reacts when he gets hit. I am not sure if he is stunned or just plating mind games with his opponent trying to let him know he is not hurt. I have seen him stick his head out there when hurt and drop his hands time after time. So far he has gotten away with it. Not sure what to think.

Damn, this is a depressing read. I see what you mean about him becoming more fan -friendly, he was way more aggressive against Amagasa than he was against many of his previous opponents. It made for a good matc, but I noticed at the beginning of the fight he was getting swarmed by Amagasa briefly at times, very unusual to see him in that position. Any videos in particular you've been watching where you notice him showing signs of declining? I think he struggled to get away from Amagassa because the guy was massive. It makes it harder to find escape routes when your opponent can cut you off in one step instead of two. Lets not get it twisted though, outside of the kd round he beat the crap out of him. The last few rounds were painful

I dont think he has slipped that much. The flaws he showed recently against Amagassa are the same ones he had when he got hurt vs Marroquin and Donaire. Namely hands too low due to overconfidence and lapse in concentration. Athletically he isnt as good as he was at amateur level but hes still plenty good enough for everyone at 122. 126 is a bit different but i still think he would be one of the best in the division.

Damn, this is a depressing read. I see what you mean about him becoming more fan -friendly, he was way more aggressive against Amagasa than he was against many of his previous opponents. It made for a good matc, but I noticed at the beginning of the fight he was getting swarmed by Amagasa briefly at times, very unusual to see him in that position. Any videos in particular you've been watching where you notice him showing signs of declining?

Try boxing someone way taller (never mind way heavier too) than you and see how it changes your style, can't read too much into that fight at all.

It's bound to happen, 35 is ancient for fighters below 130. Rigo is an absolute master, but his best will never be seen in a pro ring. The schooling of Donaire will have to do.

Even if Rigo is on the slide he will still beat Frampton easily.

Maybe part of it is mental? Since the Donaire fight, has there been any fight where he's really had to get up for? He's levels above the guys who are willing to face him, maybe he's not as motivated? I'm sure part of it is the aging and possible lifestyle outside the ring.

He is at an age when most fighters decline. Mayweather and Hopkins are exceptions to the norm. He is one of my favorites also and I'd rather see him retire than lose a fight. He needs to stay at 122 and not give the bad ass 126 pounders an advantage. If they can't make his natural weight of 122 then don't fight them.

I agree 100%. I haven't watched the Amagasa fight in months but that wasn't the guy that fought Donaire. Watch his amateur fights and look at the difference in speed, reflexes and the snap on his punches. I read he smokes and is a drinker too so not taking care of your body will make matters worse. The inactivity can't be helping either. Dare I say I think Lara has actually looked better lately. not trying talk **** bout rigo or cubans but mostly all cuban boxers are drunks lara even said it himself and rigo is from the old cuba soo it's no suprise at all he's a drinker and smoker