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I see a lot of people defending RIgo, which is fine, cause he puton a beautiful performance, bt if you call rds 8and 9 (I think these are the two) boxing, then you are just wrong. THat was running. I don't know why he really did that anyways. When he stayed in the pocket he had just as much success.Comment
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Rigo fought a smart fight. He dictated the fight and pace! When Donaire DID exchange He did as well and got the better of it.
Donaire's punch stats were at an all time low and he was not being aggressive. He looked to land a one shot KO IMO and that is always a big mistake.
Oh it would have been nice if it was a Bradley/Prov type of brawl but it wasnt. Rigo had full control and did not need to take chances with a fighter like Donaire.
Good win for Rigo. Bad fight for Doanire. Doanire isnt a shlt fighter and will move up and redeem himself as a great champion should. He just didnt dictate this fight. Rigo did!Comment
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After Donaire lost the first four rounds it was up to him to open up and force the action El Chacal already was ahead and decided to put it in cruise control cuz it was easy work. Bob Arum should of just put El Chacal in there with Abner Mares atleast he would have fought until he got knocked out unlike Donaire. This would have been perfect in could have opened up the door for them to do business.Comment
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Rigondeaux did what he had to do, he showed respect for Donaire's power, doing otherwise would have been ******. Maybe he could have risked a bit more in the 12th, when Donaire looked hurt and was fighting with one eye covered, but I can't really blame him for that.
Let's look at what Donaire did and didn't do though.
He only tried to set up his offence with a jab a couple of times, if you want to fight at mid range, you need a jab. Rigondeaux is slick, fast, extremely talented, and a south paw, it's all true. Still, I think Nonito should have taken the risk after round 8th or so.
He didn't rough it up on the inside. Then again, if you slip under a jab without throwing something it's much easier for your opponent to clinch. To be honest though, he didn't even seem to be looking to fight on the inside, not often at least.
He wasn't effective in cutting off the ring, but that is also because of Rigondeaux movement, so I wouldn't bash on him for that.
What is more concerning, in my opinion, is that he didn't look comfortable when leading. He was forced to lead, it's not what he wanted.
His problem in this fight was his inability to create counter punching opportunities. He simply waited for Rigondeaux to open up, which didn't happen. Usually a counter puncher will try to force his opponent to lead by estabilishing the jab or by 'touching' the body.
In this fight Donaire wasn't able to do either, ending up looking like a brawler who is only waiting for an occasion to land a big left hook , getting hit in the process.Comment
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As a Donaire fan, I can't pretend that I liked the fight. But Rigo is a very talented guy, very fleet of hand and foot. Nonito should have really pressed for the KO in the 10th. Its the only chance he had in the whole fight. Rig had him under a neutralization blanket the whole rest of the fight. He needed to let his hands GO in the 10th. That was the most frustrating part of the fight for me, not Rigo's... "Creative evading", let's call it, whenever he felt the ropes anywhere near his back.
I was dissappointed in Donaire.. He gave Rigo too much respect. Rigo is to be respected, don't get me wrong, but not to the point where you are ceding momentum of the fight to him. Donaire, to me, had the most success going to Rigo's body. Each time he did he caused Rigo to reset. Aside from the KD, headhunting a giuy like Rigo is not so wise... He'll slip and slide out of your attacks. Easier to touch the body of a slick fighter.. That's what he should have done really pressed the body attack on this one.
Oh well.. Frustrating fight to watch overall. I'm not gonna pretend I enjoyed it so I can get a "boxing purist" merit badge. I know what I saw, and I don't need to prove it by agreeing with the HbO announcing team word for word, or acclaiming the thing as a "tense" fight. The only tenseness I felt was a mild anxiety because Nonito wouldn't throw his damn hands!Comment
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Now why would a chinny boxer, with limited punching power, stand in the center of the ring, to trade and exchange punches with one of the biggest p4p punchers in the sport? That would have been very reckless and foolhardy of him to do and it would have been playing right into Nonito's hands. That was not the game plan. The strategy was to neutralize Nonito's punching power and it had worked to perfection. Guillermo was setting up traps for Donaire, with his constant movements, from the outside by daring Donaire to bum rush him with flurries of punches; So he could time and counter him while coming in. However, to Nonito's credit; He refused to bite the bait. Yes, while it is true that Donaire was the one doing most of the hunting but at the same time while doing so, he was still loading up on single haymakers/power punches at a time. One cannot expect to land a KO punch against one of the best defensive fighters in the sport with just haymakers. Had Donaire opened up and put more of his punches together, then perhaps he would have possibly run the risk of getting KO'd himself. Besides, even when Guillermo wasn't moving and standing flat-footed in front of Nonito, he still was reluctant to put multiple punches together.Comment
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