Rigondeaux's Manager Gary Hyde's Open Letter to Bob Arum

[bojangles1987]

How the fk did they know Agbeko was gna pussy out that badly? He was always a top guy he whipped Mares and always throws a fk ton of punches.They must be mind readers.

His age and inactivity since the Mares rematch probably made them wary about what he would bring on fight night.

[bojangles1987]

Arum is seriously pissed at Rigo for beating Donaire.

[DannYankee]

Put him with bums like those over hyped no substance fighters they always try to cram down our throats he will obliterate them just as well he is already king, and nobody can challenge him might as well put some no hope having fkers with nothing to loose for him to shine on at least we already know he is the truth already, and if a real challenge comes along he will win unlike those hype jobs from a far and manufactured fighters from not so far they dont have that advantage of being the actual goods just smoke and mirrors.

[mrspecial321]

All Joseph Agbeko did was to try to survive, perfectly predictable under the circumstances, as we both know..

Why do people make excuses for Rigondeaux's risk averse performance against Agbeko?

Plenty of fighters are over-matched and try to survive, that doesn't mean that you should allow them to do so.

Curtis Stevens tried to survive against GGG, but GGG didn't allow him to do so.

Most fighters are prepared to risk being hit to land a punch, most fighters are prepared to risk losing to win, and a tiny minority of fighters are risk adverse to the point where they want to win, but not as much as the don't want to lose, and so they take as few a risks as possible. That`s the kind of fighter that Rigondeaux was against Agbeko.

Agbeko was directly in front of Rigondeaux for almost the entire duration of the fight. He didn't run, he just stood there not throwing any punches, so what stopped Rigondeaux from attempting to force a stoppage against an over-matched and unwilling opponent, outside of his complete lack of desire to do so?

It`s foolish to hate on Arum for the way Rigondeaux chooses to perform in the ring. Arum didn't make thousands turn off their TV`s and hundreds leave the arena, that was Rigondeaux's risk averse and fan-unfriendly style.

Boxers are products, and when they fight on TV they should understand this and market themselves accordingly.

Arum told Rigondeaux in the past that he need to be more TV friendly and take more risks, and Rigondeaux ignored that wise advice and did the opposite.

Boxing fans, predominately casuals, watch boxing to be entertained and not to be anesthetized, and if they don`t enjoy the way someone fights then they don`t enjoy the way someone fights. The masses that are responsible for the success or failure of any entertainment product, of which a boxer is, don`t enjoy the way Rigondeaux fights and they don`t want to watch him.

Also, I find it kind of ridiculous that people keep suggesting certain opponents/types of opponent for Rigondeaux to look good against. How sad that a supposedly great boxer should need hand picked opponents that will fight to his strengths, just to make him look good. He can either fight on the front foot and lead first or he can't, he can either choose to go forward and take risks or he can choose not to. But cherry picking opponents only to make a fighter look good is something to be frowned upon, not encouraged.

A great boxer should be able to look great against any kind of opponent, not just those hand picked to make them do so.

[DoktorSleepless]

Steve Kim? Where did he get that?

He mentioned it in passing in one of his Next Round podcasts. Sometime in November I think. Wouldn't be able to tell you which one.

Why did TR settle for a $550k minimum knowing he wasn't a draw? Why not let him go? Just to fk him over?

I remember a Rigo insider in the board mentioned that Arum had to beat Golden Boys offer of a 350-450K minimum. Beating Donaire was supposed to make him a "star", but nobody ended up caring. He probably didn't think 500k would had been a problem at the time when the contract was made.

Why not let him go? Just to fk him over?

Why hasn't he released Rigo? Well, Arum is still obviously trying to find something for him. If he can still make money with him, he'll continue to try. People are acting as if he's keeping Rigo on the shelf. It's only been like a month and half since Rigo last fought. Jeez.

Sounds like Top Rank's fault to me. They should have known the challenge that was put in front of them before they signed him to that deal.

Rigo and Hyde knew the deal and how difficult it would be to get an opponent. They could have easily renegotiated and accept lower purses to fight an opponent to make Rigo look good. (even though Agbeko was supposed to be that guy despite the ad hoc bs) Arum gave them the option to fight Chris Avalos for $350K in Macau (a guy threw over 100 punches per round in his previous fight), but they refused.

But really, unless Arum hasn't kept his end of the contract and Hyde knows of an opponent that meets this criteria, Hyde has nothing to bitch about.

[Pain~Lucy]

TR should treat him like how GB is treating GRussell, put him with TBAs, soon he'll get that much needed-hype Russell is getting

[-PBP-]

Why do people make excuses for Rigondeaux's risk averse performance against Agbeko?

Plenty of fighters are over-matched and try to survive, that doesn't mean that you should allow them to do so.

If a world class fighter wants to survive and makes up his mind to do so, he will.

Curtis Stevens tried to survive against GGG, but GGG didn't allow him to do so.

No he didn't. Agbeko set a record for least amount of punches thrown in a fight. He beat Randall ****in Bailey. Stevens was fighting back and showed a lot of heart in that fight.

Most fighters are prepared to risk being hit to land a punch, most fighters are prepared to risk losing to win, and a tiny minority of fighters are risk adverse to the point where they want to win, but not as much as the don't want to lose, and so they take as few a risks as possible. That`s the kind of fighter that Rigondeaux was against Agbeko.

That's ******. A professional athlete's job is to win. In Rigo's case, he is more marketable undefeated and holding world titles than he is with a loss. Guys like Canelo and Rios can lose 3 times and still sell. If Rigo takes a loss his career is over. He doesn't have the ability to take risks like others do. And then there is the risk of getting robbed if he opens up and lets his opponent hit him.

Agbeko was directly in front of Rigondeaux for almost the entire duration of the fight. He didn't run, he just stood there not throwing any punches, so what stopped Rigondeaux from attempting to force a stoppage against an over-matched and unwilling opponent, outside of his complete lack of desire to do so?

Navaraez, Clottey, Guerrero, Burgos and numerous other fighters showed up to survive and much more offensive minded fighters were unable to finish them. Rigo is just the scapegoat because he's an easy target to pick on.

It`s foolish to hate on Arum for the way Rigondeaux chooses to perform in the ring. Arum didn't make thousands turn off their TV`s and hundreds leave the arena, that was Rigondeaux's risk averse and fan-unfriendly style.

Arum is the one that signed him to a lucrative contract worth a half a million per fight. He knew damn well how Rigo fought, his lack of English speaking skills and his weight class way before the contracts were signed. Now he's trying to blame Rigo for his own ******ity.

Boxers are products, and when they fight on TV they should understand this and market themselves accordingly.

Boxers are professional athletes and in order to have a long successful, lucrative hall of fame career, you have to keep winning. Being boring isn't as bad as losing.

Arum told Rigondeaux in the past that he need to be more TV friendly and take more risks, and Rigondeaux ignored that wise advice and did the opposite.

Arum shouldn't be telling fighters how to fight. His job is to promote. If you feel you can't do our job, then give somebody else a chance to try it out.

Boxing fans, predominately casuals, watch boxing to be entertained and not to be anesthetized, and if they don`t enjoy the way someone fights then they don`t enjoy the way someone fights. The masses that are responsible for the success or failure of any entertainment product, of which a boxer is, don`t enjoy the way Rigondeaux fights and they don`t want to watch him.

Its irrelevant because casuals don't give a **** about the 122 pound division. It had its moments when you had the popular Mexican fighters back in the day and Nonito with the Filipino fanbase but other than that, nobody gives a **** about this division.

Also, I find it kind of ridiculous that people keep suggesting certain opponents/types of opponent for Rigondeaux to look good against. How sad that a supposedly great boxer should need hand picked opponents that will fight to his strengths, just to make him look good. He can either fight on the front foot and lead first or he can't, he can either choose to go forward and take risks or he can choose not to. But cherry picking opponents only to make a fighter look good is something to be frowned upon, not encouraged.

It's boxing management 101. You build fighters up by feeding them opponents to make them look good. Like with GGG. That's why slick fighters are avoided so much. Why do you think Kirkland, a 154 pounder is getting a shot over a proven MW like Sergio Mora?

A great boxer should be able to look great against any kind of opponent, not just those hand picked to make them do so.

Rigo didn't look bad against Agbeko. He actually fought a perfect fight and looked great. It was just one sided and lacked action.

[-PBP-]

Rigo and Hyde knew the deal and how difficult it would be to get an opponent. They could have easily renegotiated and accept lower purses to fight an opponent to make Rigo look good. (even though Agbeko was supposed to be that guy despite the ad hoc bs) Arum gave them the option to fight Chris Avalos for $350K in Macau (a guy threw over 100 punches per round in his previous fight), but they refused.

But really, unless Arum hasn't kept his end of the contract and Hyde knows of an opponent that meets this criteria, Hyde has nothing to bitch about.

If you signed a contract that guaranteed you $500,000 would you accept $350,000?

[DoktorSleepless]

If you signed a contract that guaranteed you $500,000 would you accept $350,000?

Hey, if Hyde really had these magical powers that let him see into the future and know for sure Agbeko would stink it up bad enough to cause HBO to never want to see Rigo again, it's his problem that he chose the Agbeko money over the Avalos offer.

Arum did his job. He got him on HBO and met his guarantee. Like I said, unless Hyde knew of someone like this and can name the names, he's full of shit.

[-PBP-]

Hey, if Hyde really had these magical powers that let him see into the future and know for sure Agbeko would stink it up and cause HBO to never want to see Rigo again, it's his problem that he chose the Agbeko money over the Avalos offer.

Arum did his job. He got him on HBO and met his guarantee. Like I said, unless Hyde knew of someone like this, he's full of shit.

That's his point. Hyde is saying his team didn't choose Agbeko. And according to you, Rigo has something in his contract that says he should get $550,000 per fight; whether it be Agbeko or Avalos.

And Hyde is doing his job too. He's standing up for his client after his own promoter thrashed him in the media.