Comments Thread For: Rigondeaux Backs Lomachenko To Beat Teofimo Lopez, Explains Why

[asgarth]

It's no different than Spence vs Garcia. Both guys were bigger but didn't use their size. Being bigger does not increase your reach, and boxing skills

Size did matter though but to a different extent.

You dont have to fight like Margarito to make your size count.

A 135 or 140 version of Spence wouldnt have the same combination of size, reach and power.

Spence is naturally bigger and is able to tank Garcias punches more easily than the guys at the lower weight class.
Garcia is naturally smaller and hasnt faced that type of power before. He isnt allowed to do a lot of errors.

Those factors reflect how they approach the fight.

Normally (there are always outliers), a guy with spence physical dimensions would be lankier and have less power at 135/140.

[Ake-Dawg]

Size and weight are two different things in boxing yet so many are conflating the two to make weak arguments.

1. Rigo was the smaller man. He got in the ring and the bigger man had equal skills so he decided to not get knocked out. Cong**** to Loma on a good not great win.

2. Lopez is a champion but he is inexperienced by boxing standards (amateur + professional record). He is not in him prime per se. Accordingly, if Loma wins it will be a really good win that has the chance to be a great win should Lopez further develop and become a p4p level fighter. If Lopez wins its a great win over a p4p top 10 fighter.

3. These guys get paid to punch people in the face while we watch. Why do some of you care about the interpersonal actions between fighters and trainers? I don't care if Loma called Lopez dad a name, cursed him out, or complimented him. This isn't a nice guy competition. Lopez talks a lot, but if you don't like to watch him fight because of what he says outside of the ring, are you a real boxing fan or just a person looking for an athlete or two to fanboy on.

[garfios]

No excuses you were outclassed regarding the weight. How Abouit Canelo beating Kova moving from 154 to 175?

I think he was fighting at 168(he did fieldieng). And beating kovalev nowadays is not a big thing, specially with almost no off time between camps and fights.

[KillaMane26]

Size did matter though but to a different extent.

You dont have to fight like Margarito to make your size count.

A 135 or 140 version of Spence wouldnt have the same combination of size, reach and power.

Spence is naturally bigger and is able to tank Garcias punches more easily than the guys at the lower weight class.
Garcia is naturally smaller and hasnt faced that type of power before. He isnt allowed to do a lot of errors.

Those factors reflect how they approach the fight.

Normally (there are always outliers), a guy with spence physical dimensions would be lankier and have less power at 135/140.

Nice assessment....

[Mooshashi]

That's a fight I've tried hard to wipe from my memory. I still like to watch the Salido fight every now and then. I just loved the body work that Salido did that fight. I recall Laurence Cole putting in a great performance that night as well.

I just spewed my breakfast all over my tablet after reading your Cole comment. Nice one.

[AKAcronym]

You didn't know he has a belt at 118 lbs?

Yes, now he does. Up until him getting the belt earlier this year, he had literally never fought at 118. So him saying he's a natural 118 lber as an excuse as to why he lost to Loma is ridiculous.

[ELPacman]

That's the point really.

He couldn't do that and Loma was the reason for that.

In my mind, that was really the super bowl of amateur greats and Loma proved who the real GOAT amateur is/was.

Well that is what I thought as well. I mean that is mostly all they hyped it up to be. A boxing match with 2 of the greatest amateur fighters that gone pro. Still, Rigo had literally nothing to show Loma at all. Isn't the saying that a great big man will beat a great little man? Well, it held true but you still expect the great little man to give a better accounting of himself. Rigo did jack *****, lol.

[SplitSecond]

Size did matter though but to a different extent.

You dont have to fight like Margarito to make your size count.

A 135 or 140 version of Spence wouldnt have the same combination of size, reach and power.

Spence is naturally bigger and is able to tank Garcias punches more easily than the guys at the lower weight class.
Garcia is naturally smaller and hasnt faced that type of power before. He isnt allowed to do a lot of errors.

Those factors reflect how they approach the fight.

Normally (there are always outliers), a guy with spence physical dimensions would be lankier and have less power at 135/140.

The weight on Garcia himself is what made that fight as one-sided as it was. Garcia had far too much mass on him that he couldn’t easily move around with and Spence made it worse by using his dimensions.

But yea. You can;t not use your size. You can absorb punches better, your punches are heavier, you can actually carry the weight etc.

[Boxing Goat]

Well that is what I thought as well. I mean that is mostly all they hyped it up to be. A boxing match with 2 of the greatest amateur fighters that gone pro. Still, Rigo had literally nothing to show Loma at all. Isn't the saying that a great big man will beat a great little man? Well, it held true but you still expect the great little man to give a better accounting of himself. Rigo did jack *****, lol.

Agreed. There are levels at the top too. Can't hate on Loma for exploiting Rigo at that point. I'm sure if he sat and waited in Rigo like he would have liked, Rigo would have got more done but that's not always how it works.

[richardt]

I don't size was the only factor in that win and there's no excuse for him quitting, but there was clearly a significant size difference between the 2. Loma looked legitimately at least 2 weight classes bigger than Rigo.

The way I see was that size was not become an advantage in the fight because A) Loma was not leaning on him with his back to the ropes and wearing him down and B) Loma didn't use power punches that hurt Rigo or ended in a real KO. It is simple, if you make Loma a smaller fighter, he is even faster, and then Rigo has an even more difficult time landing shots on him and Loma being smaller means he is throwing faster and landing at an even higher rate than he did. I saw this as coming down to the skills and activity rate difference. But I'm glad Rigo made a nice payday, his second biggest one to the Donaire fight and I hope Rico can make a few more paydays. His former manager didn't help his career too much....but I'm glad, even though Arum has faults, even after Rigo and Arum separated, Arum got him his second biggest payday. I pull for Rigo in each of his fights cause he has little time left in his career. But moreso, I wish Cuba allowed for Pro fighters to travel and fight and return home when they want to, or live elsewhere, and have a normal career.