Nonito Donaire Vs Guillermo Rigondeaux: Who Wins?

[CubanGuyNYC]

I just can't get over how looping Donaire's left hook can be at times. He has fast hands, but Guillermo throws tight straight shots and I think his punches will get there first.

I agree. Donaire misses a lot with all his punches. Just don't get caught. lol

Nonito isn't exactly some granite-chinned warrior. I don't think he's ever even been knocked down as a pro, but I've seen him hurt by smaller, lighter hitters than Rigo. I don't mean rocked, the way Guilermo was rocked by Marroquin, but his reaction was obviously that of a fighter that didn't like what he just felt. Versus Concepcion, Donaire ate a nice left that sent him into retreat mode for the remainder of the round. And it's no the only time I've seen him go into retreat mode, either.

In the end, both these guys have to respect the other's power. Nonito can score an instant KO to the head. Rigondeaux can end it with a shot to the liver, or a head shot followed by a barrage of punches.

[CubanGuyNYC]

What Naravez did proves my point, he's usually a busy fighter but against Donaire he shelled up and rarely engaged, if Rigo does the same thing he loses the fight on points. Rigo has good defense but Marroquin was able to touch him several times with that right hand-left hook combination, it looks like Rigo is not used to fighters who lead with power shots, the amateurs don't prepare you for that.

The bold is an excellent observation, and one I don't doubt Rigo is still susceptible to. I hope Pedro Diaz addresses the issue.

Narvaez didn't actively engage because he was very wary of Donaire's power. Let's not forget, the 5' 3" Narvaez (even smaller than Guillermo) was moving up to "challenge" Nonito. Donaire not only has a deserved reputation for big power, but on this occasion he was facing a much smaller man (again).

I don't see Rigondeaux fighting at all like Omar. For one, I've never seen him fight that way. The only time he's ever been overly defensive as a pro was in the second half of the Cordoba fight. There, he fought from the outside and took pot-shots. Beyond that, as I've mentioned before, Guillermo has his own power for Nonito to worry about. And, as I've also said before, it's not like Donaire has never reacted sheepishly to a good shot.

[TheHook84]

It's going to be one heck of a fight because he have two world champions in the ring together. At the end of the night we will find out who is the better man. Rigo can talk all the racist **** he wants to Nonito but it wont work. This is the biggest fight I will have even seen.

[Light_Speed]

The bold is an excellent observation, and one I don't doubt Rigo is still susceptible to. I hope Pedro Diaz addresses the issue.

Only 8 weeks to work on that...

Narvaez didn't actively engage because he was very wary of Donaire's power. Let's not forget, the 5' 3" Narvaez (even smaller than Guillermo) was moving up to "challenge" Nonito. Donaire not only has a deserved reputation for big power, but on this occasion he was facing a much smaller man (again).

Rigo is smaller too and he got dazed in his last fight so he's gonna be extra cautious in this fight.

I don't see Rigondeaux fighting at all like Omar. For one, I've never seen him fight that way. The only time he's ever been overly defensive as a pro was in the second half of the Cordoba fight. There, he fought from the outside and took pot-shots. Beyond that, as I've mentioned before, Guillermo has his own power for Nonito to worry about. And, as I've also said before, it's not like Donaire has never reacted sheepishly to a good shot.

And when he did that he lost some rounds in the 2nd half. I've never seen Donaire hurt in any fight, I think he suffered a flash KD early in his career but I'm not sure.

[Pacdbest]

I just can't get over how looping Donaire's left hook can be at times. He has fast hands, but Guillermo throws tight straight shots and I think his punches will get there first.

One step back & Nonito will be out of range! Now when Rigo's a little Closer Then he will have the taste of what's coming, BOOM, Lights out!! Darchinyan got caught with it!! Montiel too!!

[CubanGuyNYC]

And when he did that he lost some rounds in the 2nd half. I've never seen Donaire hurt in any fight, I think he suffered a flash KD early in his career but I'm not sure.

I didn't say Donaire was "hurt" in my post, and I didn't mean to imply he was. I was referring to Nono's reaction to a Concepcion left in their meeting. Donaire was hit and immediately went into bicycle mode. It's clear he didn't like how the punch felt. Hurt, no. But Nonito isn't the "Man of Steel," either. I tried finding the moment for you, but I'm just not going to sit through the whole fight again.

[CubanGuyNYC]

One step back & Nonito will be out of range! Now when Rigo's a little Closer Then he will have the taste of what's coming, BOOM, Lights out!! Darchinyan got caught with it!! Montiel too!!

You mean, like Manny? The way Manny got caught?

[El Angel]

One step back & Nonito will be out of range! Now when Rigo's a little Closer Then he will have the taste of what's coming, BOOM, Lights out!! Darchinyan got caught with it!! Montiel too!!

I don't think Rigondeaux will put himself in such a susceptible position to get countered as flush as Montiel and Darchinyan did. Got caught clean, punching with a faster handed and better boxer than they are. I'm not sure those are true against Rigondeaux.

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

I agree: twelve rounds is a long time not to get hit with something flush. I do believe Rigo will get touched at some point. It'll all hinge on how he reacts. I believe the jury is still out on Guille's chin, but he's a very small guy who's probably better suited to 118. I can understand why he gets moved when hit. Marroquin, is a solid 5' 8" fighter. It's no surprise he rocked Rigo. Nonito might hit harder, but Robert is no slouch, and he's substantially bigger than Donaire.

Always a pleasure to read your opinion, Cuauhtémoc. I just hope you're wrong about this one.

Thanks, quick story for you if you care to read it. I have a really good young fighter who fights at the 122lb weight class and is a current amateur. He's really good, just won the open in that weight class, beating Ariel Vega who is now a pro and 1-0 with a KO.

Anyway, we took him to spar Rigo in Hialeah and rigo knocked him down and out with a body shot.

I will say (and I'm not judgmental on just one incident) Rigo wasn't very nice to the kid. He was upset that the kid didn't get up and said in Spanish, "Get him the ***out of my ring" basically.

Learning lesson but it has no bearing on who I think will win this fight. It wouldn't shock me to see Rigo outbox him for 12 rounds.

[CubanGuyNYC]

Thanks, quick story for you if you care to read it. I have a really good young fighter who fights at the 122lb weight class and is a current amateur. He's really good, just won the open in that weight class, beating Ariel Vega who is now a pro and 1-0 with a KO.

Anyway, we took him to spar Rigo in Hialeah and rigo knocked him down and out with a body shot.

I will say (and I'm not judgmental on just one incident) Rigo wasn't very nice to the kid. He was upset that the kid didn't get up and said in Spanish, "Get him the ***out of my ring" basically.

Learning lesson but it has no bearing on who I think will win this fight. It wouldn't shock me to see Rigo outbox him for 12 rounds.

Yeah, I don't like the sound of that. It's very philosophical of you not to judge Rigo based on that one incident. Was it a hard shot, or just well placed? After all, it was only sparring, and obviously against a relatively green fighter. I've seen footage of Guille sparring and it appears that he often just works on his movement with lesser fighters.

Thanks for sharing the story!