In the aftermath of the brilliant boxing clinic Guillermo Rigondeaux hosted Saturday night by besting Nonito Donaire via unanimous decision (116-111, 115-112, 114-113), many headlines called the fight boring.
BULLogna.
Rigondeaux’s effort to pry away Donaire’s WBO and The Ring Super Bantamweight Titles was remarkable. From the beginning of the fight, the normally defensively-minded Rigondeaux surprisingly led the action. The slick southpaw mixed up his punches and used an array of feints, lateral movement and perfectly-time pivots to keep his opponent off-balanced. When Donaire came forward with aggression, it was usually with just one punch. The ‘Filipino Flash’ repeatedly tried to land his trademark monster left hook, but often with limited success.
Donaire must have respected Rigondeaux’s power, because he was hesitant to really come forward aggressively for most of the fight. When he finally did, in the 10th round, it paid off. A strong left hand planted Rigondeaux firmly on his butt. A fight that seemed to be a white wash was now back into a competitive bout, or so it seemed. Though his legs seemed to be pretty sturdy, fans wondered whether Donaire, the star, could close the show and pull off an epic turnaround. However, a few quick and tough counters sent Donaire back into ‘one and done’ mode. In the 11th round, a straight left hand busted his eye, which he cautiously covered for the rest of the night.
In the end, the guy who ran through just about everybody on his way to the edge of boxing super-stardom, especially for small fighters, was made to look like easy work. Rigondeaux’s supreme skills prevailed.
Yet the boos and complaints of Rigondeaux’s style are worrisome. There are some guys in boxing with zero punching power who are forced to peck and run to avoid anything resembling combat (Cory Spinks and Paulie Malignaggi come to mind). Rigondeaux is not the fighter. The Cuban defector threw and landed some solid punching, which undoubtedly helped lead to Donaire’s lack of aggression.
The fight did not feature excessive clenching or holding. We didn’t see heatbutts or rabbit punches throughout the fight, despite the southpaw vs conventional matchup. What we saw was one of boxing’s next mini-superstars get outshone by a guy with better all-around skills.
No, this fight didn’t have the moments of standing and trading like Rios – Alvarado II. It wasn’t an all out slugfest. But it wasn’t a guy running scared either. Instead of claiming that Rigondeaux is a boring fighter, people should deride Donaire for his inability to cut off the ring, his refusal to heed his trainer’s calls to unleash some combinations and apparent lack of preparation (Donaire admitted he hadn’t watched any tape of his opponent).
Maybe Donaire got too big for his own britches and thought he’d walk through another tough opponent. Maybe his supposed injury and wife’s pregnancy was too much distraction. Maybe it was the weight. Maybe he just adapted poorly to a tremendous fighter with a difficult style. Regardless, Rigondeaux’s clinic just might be replayed on your local health channel – his title extraction was just that precise.
