Comments Thread For: Arum: I Want Rigondeaux To Be More Fan-Friendly

[ThatDude44]

He's got a 66% ko rate and skill. What's there to complain about? Good job having your guy's back Arum.

[The Ninth Layer]

The ONLY people that appreciate the way this guy fights are hardcore boxing fans. No offense but we're not exactly the people who pony out big money to see the big fights here, hell people on this site were *****ing about having to pay extra for Bradley-Marquez. How many hardcore boxing fans are there in the most hardcore of boxing cities? Those are the people that Rigondeaux appeals to... and there aren't a ton of us.

Rigo is not a must-see attraction for non-hardcores. Nobody is going to pay to see a dude run away and pot-shot their way to a victory, and nobody is going to want to listen to you explain to them how really it's masterful boxing technique that Rigo is showing either. This isn't Manny Pacquiao who is fast and aggressive and brings it to each fight. This isn't even Mayweather whose showmanship makes spectacles out of complete mis-matches. This a dude who speaks no English and fights possibly the most extreme safety-first style of anybody in the sport today.

Seriously people comparing Rigo to Terrence Crawford are comparing apples to oranges. Rigo is quite possibly the greatest amateur of all time who just defeated the consensus pound for pound #4 guy... but those are both things that only hardcore fans care about. Crawford is American, fights in a division just two south of welterweight, and has not yet hit his professional apex. Crawford could someday be an opponent for Manny Pacquiao or Tim Bradley or a lot of other fighters. Rigo fights at 122 and doesn't want to move up from there.

Casual fans have no investment in Rigondeaux so they aren't clamoring to buy tickets or see his fights or anything. There is nothing for them to invest in. He's got a Bernard Hopkins attitude of "whatever it takes to win" but unlike Hopkins he can't speak English and didn't grow up anywhere in America, his ethnic group doesn't have a huge presence in the states or within boxing either. He's not going to be easy for anybody, including GBP, to promote.

Remember that HBO hasn't shown Wlad fights in years and only showed the Povetkin one because Povetkin had been seen as one of the few worthy challengers for him. You can bet they won't be showing any more Wlad fights for a while unless he's against another fighter people are actually interested in. It'll be the same way with Rigo if he can't connect to casual fans in the States.

[kozone]

Don't kid yourself. Arum was not bitter about Donaire losing in and of itself, he was bitter about the money he would lose by Rigo not having the capacity to generate the sales he wanted. He knew like anyone in the Boxing business knows that anything can happen in Boxing and that Rigo could win that fight. He saw dollars lost. The reason WHY Arum deflected the blame to Klimov in Crawford's case is because that was a singular case where Crawford was booed. Rigo has been booed at least twice now. And the common denominator between Dawson, Alexander, Ward, and Hopkins is that all are Americans who speak English. For a fighter to not speak English he has to have a gimmick or be hugely exciting or popular, Rigo is neither. Not Rigo's fault, it is just reality.

You talk about Rigo getting booed against Ramos...the same Ramos that Rigo knocked down in the first round and then finished him off in the six round with a devastating liver shot that had Ramos in the floor screaming like a girl?!!! Oh yea the same fight Rigo took his belt away from him!! Yea I can see why people where booing him...gtfoh

[richardt]

You talk about Rigo getting booed against Ramos...the same Ramos that Rigo knocked down in the first round and then finished him off in the six round with a devastating liver shot that had Ramos in the floor screaming like a girl?!!! Oh yea the same fight Rigo took his belt away from him!! Yea I can see why people where booing him...gtfoh

Work on your reading comprehension! I never said I supported Rigo getting boo'd, I said that Rigo got boo'd (which is a known fact) in that fight and still turned it around and ended it in exciting fashion which PROVES he can be exciting when he wants to be. Get it? Got it? Good!

[Det. Conan]

... We all saw that fight... But who prevented Donaire from assaulting and punch Rigo down? Donaire looked quite disoriented... Wasn't Donaire also "credited" for that booing? It's not so clear for me...

Rigo doesnt engaged more often. He wanted to pot shot and run. He diddnt even tried to k.o. his opponent. We cant watch very good & entertaining fight if only one is committed in doing so. Boxing is a business but above all, it is an entertainment sport. People paid to get entertained. Maybe a lot of people likes the way rigo fight but the VAST majorities are not.

[Det. Conan]

The ONLY people that appreciate the way this guy fights are hardcore boxing fans. No offense but we're not exactly the people who pony out big money to see the big fights here, hell people on this site were *****ing about having to pay extra for Bradley-Marquez. How many hardcore boxing fans are there in the most hardcore of boxing cities? Those are the people that Rigondeaux appeals to... and there aren't a ton of us.

Rigo is not a must-see attraction for non-hardcores. Nobody is going to pay to see a dude run away and pot-shot their way to a victory, and nobody is going to want to listen to you explain to them how really it's masterful boxing technique that Rigo is showing either. This isn't Manny Pacquiao who is fast and aggressive and brings it to each fight. This isn't even Mayweather whose showmanship makes spectacles out of complete mis-matches. This a dude who speaks no English and fights possibly the most extreme safety-first style of anybody in the sport today.

Seriously people comparing Rigo to Terrence Crawford are comparing apples to oranges. Rigo is quite possibly the greatest amateur of all time who just defeated the consensus pound for pound #4 guy... but those are both things that only hardcore fans care about. Crawford is American, fights in a division just two south of welterweight, and has not yet hit his professional apex. Crawford could someday be an opponent for Manny Pacquiao or Tim Bradley or a lot of other fighters. Rigo fights at 122 and doesn't want to move up from there.

Casual fans have no investment in Rigondeaux so they aren't clamoring to buy tickets or see his fights or anything. There is nothing for them to invest in. He's got a Bernard Hopkins attitude of "whatever it takes to win" but unlike Hopkins he can't speak English and didn't grow up anywhere in America, his ethnic group doesn't have a huge presence in the states or within boxing either. He's not going to be easy for anybody, including GBP, to promote.

Remember that HBO hasn't shown Wlad fights in years and only showed the Povetkin one because Povetkin had been seen as one of the few worthy challengers for him. You can bet they won't be showing any more Wlad fights for a while unless he's against another fighter people are actually interested in. It'll be the same way with Rigo if he can't connect to casual fans in the States.

Very well said...
Tho lots of people appreciated the style of Rigo but the VAST MAJORITY (who brings tons of money to the promoters & netwoks) are NOT!
HBO will showcase Wlad's fight but not because of him, its because of his opponent and what he can bring to the table. BOXING IS AN ENTERTAINMENT SPORT.

[MDPopescu]

Ever watched a Crawford fight on HBO? I suspect their assessment of Ward will sound something like their Crawford assessment.


Posted from Boxingscene.com App for Android

Toute proportion gardée (because it's hard to compare Crawford with Ward), Crawford fights more openly (the Klimov fight was boring because of Klimov...)
In my opinion, Ward displays the most cryptic boxing style to date... He's very intelligent and athletic, but his style is the most opaque I've seen recently...

[MDPopescu]

Hey arum, he's a defensive fighter, know who else is? The #1 p4p fighter yet he's making 50mils per fight. True boxing fan appriciate the sweet science and the fact that he could make a fighter like donaire look ******. Floyd wasn't a super star until he beat both de la hoya and Hatton. If rigo keeps beating these top fighters with ease, is your job as the promoter to get the networks and fans dying to see him again

... Yes... And P4P #2 is also a defensive fighter... And P4P #3 or #4 (Bradley) is also a defensive fighter... a.s.o...

[MDPopescu]

Then all "stylist" fighters (i.e. the likes of Floyd, Rigo, Ward, B-Hop...) should be banned from boxing... Keep brawlers and punchers only.

[MDPopescu]

I think the fans were booing the lack of action, not rigo persay. the lack of action stemmed from rigo's style and nonito's unwillingness to continue to throw punches because he didn't want to keep getting countered.

HBO invested in Nonito and Rigo ruined that investment to a degree. HBO had to be smart enough to see this coming when the fight was made.

But I maintain Top Rank's job is to promote Rigo, not get rigo to fight in a different style. The truth is winningboring may not get you big ppv fights but getting KO'd repeatedly will not get you those fights either.

You seem to be saying that HBO doesn't want rigo as the a side of a main event. Fine. I'm cool with that. My problem is Bob suggesting rigo being more exciting will get him big fights where he is the a side. How will that happen if he loses to an inferior fighter?

... What I said earlier, by using other words. Donaire generated a good part of the booing as well by renouncing to come over Rigo...