When Guillermo Rigondeaux (12–0) stunned the boxing world by beating Nonito Donaire (31–2) Saturday night by unanimous decision, there were more than a few lessons learned and takeaways to be had.
Not only did Rigondeaux walk out of Radio City Music Hall victorious; he walked out with both of Donaire’s championship belts (WBO super bantamweight title and The Ring junior featherweight title).
As great as this matchup was on paper, the lack of action throughout and the slow pace from two normally lightning-fast competitors in the bout made it hard to watch at times.
And as intriguing as the outcome is for the sport, the lackluster in-ring battle was disappointing.
The bout wasn’t the best boxing fans will ever see (mostly counterpunches and off-target haymakers), but with two of the freshest faces in the sport taking aim at each other, the usage of strategy and the final decision made this fight memorable.
Guillermo Rigondeaux Won the Fight and Lost Fans
While Guillermo Rigondeaux and his supporters will claim that the constant movement away from the action and counterpunching was the intended strategy (it obviously flustered Donaire throughout the fight), it made for a very boring main event.
No matter what the fans thought of how the fighters arrived at the outcome, though, yet another victory for the Cuban speedster proves the hype around his career is more than warranted.
Rigondeaux is a two-time Olympic Bantamweight gold medalist for Cuba, winning in 2000 and 2004, but it wasn’t until he defected from his homeland that he was able to really start his professional career.
As much raw talent as the fighter has shown over his short career, the fact that Saturday’s strategy consisted of running away from the striking of Donaire has made many hardcore boxing fans turn on the prodigy.
Rigondeaux’s technique and speed are unquestionable, and this win is still the biggest of his professional career, but the lack of action in this marquee bout and his evasive strategy has killed some of the aura that surrounded him.
Nonito Donaire is Far From Perfect
It’s hard to blame Nonito Donaire for the way he fought Saturday—constantly chasing Rigondeaux around the ring—but it was his lack of success cutting his opponent off and landing open shots that doomed the Filipino star.
While many heralded Donaire as the next Manny Pacquiao (a comparison that is still valid despite the tough loss), he was unable to use his elite speed and power to make Rigondeaux pay Saturday night.
Much of his inability to land shots came from Rigondeaux’s ability to avoid contact with amazing footwork, but the fact that Donaire was unable to solve his opponent’s method after 12 rounds was the reason he lost the bout.
Donaire is the real deal as a fighter, but at 30 years old, the brawler needs to learn from the loss in this fight and request a rematch immediately.
Now that Donaire and his team know that Rigondeaux will be running the whole time, if a rematch comes to fruition, the Filipino star can work on cutting the ring off and punishing his opponent for too much movement.
Follow @Donald_Wood
Read more Boxing news on BleacherReport.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment