Nonito Donaire VS Guillermo Rigondeaux Tomorrow

[JayBee74]

A "pound for pound" contender (Donaire) versus a guy who some call the greatest amateur fighter ever (Rigondeaux). Rigondeaux also won a world title in only his 7th pro fight. However he was an amateur for a long time. He's 32, Donaire is 30.

[steelcityjames]

Re: Nonito Donaire VS Guillermo Rigondeaux Tomorrow

i'm actually picking Rigondeaux to win convincingly. just a gut feeling....

[JayBee74]

Re: Nonito Donaire VS Guillermo Rigondeaux Tomorrow

i'm actually picking Rigondeaux to win convincingly. just a gut feeling....

Hard to go against Donaire, but this has the makings of a great fight.

The general consensus of this fight is "we know how good Donaire is, now how good or great is Rigondeaux"?

[Complex]

Re: Nonito Donaire VS Guillermo Rigondeaux Tomorrow

Should be a great fight

[JayBee74]

Re: Nonito Donaire VS Guillermo Rigondeaux Tomorrow

Rigondeaux controlled this low volume fight. Still, can't see how Donaire won any round but the one with the harmless knockdown.

[Sausage]

Re: Nonito Donaire VS Guillermo Rigondeaux Tomorrow

Rigondeaux controlled this low volume fight. Still, can't see how Donaire won any round but the one with the harmless knockdown.

Agree, I had it 118-109; the judges tried there darndest to blow it.

[Complex]

Re: Nonito Donaire VS Guillermo Rigondeaux Tomorrow

I don't think the knockdown was harmless. It demonstrates the weakness that Rig has. Donaire just wasn't prepared for this bout.

[JayBee74]

Re: Nonito Donaire VS Guillermo Rigondeaux Tomorrow

I don't think the knockdown was harmless. It demonstrates the weakness that Rig has. Donaire just wasn't prepared for this bout.

I thought it was harmless, not because it does or doesn't highlight Rigondeaux's "chin concerns", it just didn't seem to give Donaire any momentum boost. The most telling punch in the fight was the shot that busted up Donaire's eye early in the 12th.

114-113, 115-112, 116-111 was a little to close for me. I could live with Daughter Lederman's 116-111 verdict.

Spoiler

[bakan723]

Re: Nonito Donaire VS Guillermo Rigondeaux Tomorrow

I had a feeling the judges would make this one closer than it should of been.

Rig got his respect early and let him know he was up against a whole different class of opponent.

[steelcityjames]

Re: Nonito Donaire VS Guillermo Rigondeaux Tomorrow

Rig fought beautifully. very disappointed in Donaire's lack of preparation and lack of aggression. Rig would take rounds off and STILL win them!

[sheredia]

Re: Nonito Donaire VS Guillermo Rigondeaux Tomorrow

rig gave donaire a boxing lesson...plain and simple. donaire clearly wasn't at his best. i believe he will be if or when they have a rematch. it could be a while since donaire is taking time off for his newborn.

[Money99]

Re: Nonito Donaire VS Guillermo Rigondeaux Tomorrow

I don't know how that one judge had the fight 104-104 after 11 rounds. That's embarassing.
I'm a Donaire fan, but he clearly lost this fight. It was a schooling.

I've read stories and rumors that Donaire didn't prepare properly, but I'm not sure that's true, or if it even matters.
When Rigondeaux feels like putting in a 100% effort, I'm not sure anyone in his weight class comes close to beating him.

I still think he'll lose within the next 18 months, but it'll be because he didn't prepare, not because someone had more talent than him.

[pietasterp]

Re: Nonito Donaire VS Guillermo Rigondeaux Tomorrow

Kind of a boring fight in my opinion...not that every fight has to be an action-packed affair, but it rarely looked like anyone was threatened in any way. Also, maybe I'm still in the hangover phase of the Alvarado-Rios war from the week before....

Anyway, Teddy Atlas (and others here) called it. I don't think I've ever seen anyone flat-out outclass Donaire like that before. He just looked confused in there. If he had only let his hands go earlier and gotten more aggressive around the 6th or 7th round, he probably could have gotten a stoppage. But a leopard doesn't change his stripes...not mid-fight, anyway. I'm wholly uninterested in a re-match. Two counter-punchers feinting and rolling, while technically excellent stuff, just doesn't hold my interest. I guess I'm not a boxing purist, because I want to see high-volume, high-work-rate stuff all the time.

[Money99]

Re: Nonito Donaire VS Guillermo Rigondeaux Tomorrow

Kind of a boring fight in my opinion...not that every fight has to be an action-packed affair, but it rarely looked like anyone was threatened in any way. Also, maybe I'm still in the hangover phase of the Alvarado-Rios war from the week before....

Anyway, Teddy Atlas (and others here) called it. I don't think I've ever seen anyone flat-out outclass Donaire like that before. He just looked confused in there. If he had only let his hands go earlier and gotten more aggressive around the 6th or 7th round, he probably could have gotten a stoppage. But a leopard doesn't change his stripes...not mid-fight, anyway. I'm wholly uninterested in a re-match. Two counter-punchers feinting and rolling, while technically excellent stuff, just doesn't hold my interest. I guess I'm not a boxing purist, because I want to see high-volume, high-work-rate stuff all the time.

I'm in the same boat. I can appreciate what both these guys bring to the table, but generally, 2 top-notch counter-punchers almost always equals low-action bouts.

I really hope there isn't a rematch. Donaire was so thoroughly schooled, I doubt anything changes in a 2nd fight (with exception to their bank accounts).

I kind of wish Gamboa would have stayed at 126 so he could have challenged Rigondeaux. But it looks like he's moving up to 135.

[pietasterp]

Re: Nonito Donaire VS Guillermo Rigondeaux Tomorrow

I kind of wish Gamboa would have stayed at 126 so he could have challenged Rigondeaux. But it looks like he's moving up to 135.

This is a good point, because it speaks to a larger question: Where the heck does Rigondeaux go from here? Sure, he beat a great fighter, but he basically just fought the only meaningful bout at 126, and I can't imagine there is any serious demand to see him fight again. He fights like a great Olympic boxer (I know, duh...), but his style is so sleep-inducing, he'll never headline a card. That's not his fault, and I wish for some guys that wasn't the case because he has all the craft in the world, but honestly, from my perspective as an average boxing fan, if Rigondeaux was fighting in my backyard I'm not even sure I'd open the blinds to watch.

Maybe they'll find a great pressure fighter / volume puncher to match up with him, but honestly, it's going to be tough to find fights for the guy, even if he moves up in weight.