Purists elated, fans bored as Rigondeaux outsmarts Donaire

Carlos Cinco

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Rappler boxing analyst Carlos Cinco shares his thoughts on Nonito Donaire's loss to Guillermo Rigondeaux.

NEW YORK, United States – The Radio City Music Hall was abuzz on fight night, as Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire put his WBO Super Bantamweight title on the line against WBA Super Bantamweight belt holder, Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux.

Carlos CincoThe chants of “Nonito! Nonito!” drowned the sold-out theatre and as fans came expecting an all-out war, they were treated to a highly technical chess match instead.

Boxing pundits were excited to see this fight because of the high level of skill involved, but warned fans for months that it might not be the most exciting fight to see. This proved to be true as soon as the two stylists met each other at the center of the ring.

Great footwork

From the beginning of the fight to the end, both fighters were tentative to engage each other. Instead, they opted to fight a tactical, virtual chess match at the center of the ring which, due to the severe lack of action, practically lulled the crowd to sleep.

Then again, with two high-level boxers like Donaire and Rigondeaux, it was to be expected, at least by those in the know.

One thing that stood out was Rigondeaux’s spectacular and superior footwork.

Rigondeaux can move in any direction with ease. He circled Donaire all night with strafes and sidesteps, away from Donaire’s money punches and into safe haven which was about 4-5 feet separated from his opponent. Oftentimes, Rigondeaux would crack Donaire with a sharp counter to score points.

It should be noted however, that at no point in the fight was Donaire visibly hurt or rocked. Perhaps it was Rigondeaux’s lack of combinations that failed to get the respect of the Filipino superstar. Certainly, Donaire’s own lack of action did not help his cause.

Not enough action

Donaire seemed unlike his “Fighter of the Year” self for most of the fight, choosing instead to load up on his straight right hand looking to land a haymaker. This proved to be his undoing as he wasn’t able to put enough punches together to get the judges’ nod.

Early on in the fight, Donaire seemed intent on landing some wicked digs to the body, but inexplicably veered away from that strategy too soon as he started to head-hunt the ever elusive Rigondeaux.

Sensing he was at a disadvantage from the outside, Donaire attempted multiple times to bull-rush his way within range and had his success when he threw combinations. But his punches were few and far between and they weren’t enough to deter Rigondeaux’s evasive, counter-punching style.

Things picked up in the 10th round, though, when Donaire switched to a southpaw stance and caught Rigondeaux off a break with a straight left that put the Cuban on the seat of his pants. Donaire rained down punches in bunches at that point, trying to take his opponent out but Rigondeaux somehow recovered his bearings and came back strong in the final two rounds.

Despite scoring the knockdown, Donaire dropped a Unanimous Decision to Rigondeaux by scores of 114-113, 115-112 and 116-111 – his first loss in nearly 12 years.

ROCKED. Rigondeaux proved to be the better boxer. Photo by Top Rank/Chris Farinas.

Controversial scores?

Most experts feel Rigondeaux gave Donaire a boxing lesson and while that may be true, the scores were too lopsided in favor of the Cuban for my tastes. I’m okay with a 114-113 score and thought the fight could go either way but scoring the fight in favor of Rigondeaux by a 116-111 margin, even with the knockdown in consideration is ludicrous.

At best, it was a close fight that could have tipped any which way and a 114-113 card for Rigondeaux is acceptable. In fact, it told the story perfectly.

In the end, Donaire couldn’t overcome Rigondeaux’s stifling defensive prowess and superior ring generalship. Rigondeaux put his entire arsenal of defensive techniques and ring smarts on display in dethroning Donaire, who suffered just the second loss of his professional career.

“I apologize, I wanted to deliver,” said Donaire, 30, expecting his first child with wife Rachel Marcial Donaire later this year. “During the last two rounds I got stupid. I felt his power in the last round; I wanted to put him away.”

Donaire also complained of a shoulder injury that he suffered mid-fight.

“There was a lot of pressure on me, I’ve got ligament damage in my shoulder and I need surgery. It was my mistake for not changing up throughout the fight. I have no excuse, he beat me tonight,” expressed a disappointed Donaire, who suggested he may have underestimated Rigondeaux by not studying tapes of him during training.

Donaire also expressed difficulty in making the Super Bantamweight limit of 122 lbs., but did not rule out a rematch with his conqueror, to whom he also gave due credit.

“I want to go up in the division, I was struggling to make this weight. We’d like to rematch [Rigondeaux],” said Donaire. “I have much respect for the beautiful Boxing that he [Rigondeaux] gave me. We have to go back to the drawing board.”

What’s next?

This obviously is the first real setback of Donaire’s career and it will be interesting to see how he comes back from a loss. My guess is Donaire comes back a better fighter with this experience. Rigondeaux, now 12-0, is the new unified WBA/WBO Super Bantamweight champion of the world. He delivered a masterful performance.

Though I would have liked for him to press the action a little more due to his insane skillset, Rigondeaux just simply isn’t built that way. Rather than backpedal, and at times blatantly running from Donaire, Rigondeaux needs to put more punches together.

The only thing this fight proves is that Rigondeaux is a better boxer than Donaire, but not necessarily a better fighter. Those are two different things. Donaire chose to box Rigondeaux, and he lost – plain and simple. Opponents need to get up in Rigondeaux’s grill and force him into a fist fight.

If any opponent decides to attempt to outsmart Rigondeaux, they will be in for a long night in trying to decipher perhaps the most puzzling style in the sport.

From here, Donaire will probably go on a much needed vacation given that his wife Rachel is due in a few months. When he does decide to return, I’d like to think a Rigondeaux rematch will be there waiting for him. Or he could move up one class to Featherweight where some stiff challenges await as well.

Nowhere to go for Rigondeaux

Rigondeaux on the other hand has nowhere to go. Top Rank now has to market a 12-0 fighter with virtually no cohesive fan-base, apart from a handful of boxing purists. He’s also a counter-puncher to boot, who gravely lacks in the action department.

I’d like for Rigondeaux to put together some more meaningful fights, move up a weight class or two and then rematch Donaire again sometime down the road when both fighters have evolved into more complete versions.

As for Donaire, who fought 5 high profile fights in just a little over a year, a lengthy break from the sport may be just what the doctor ordered.

With the loss, Donaire joins Manny Pacquiao and Brian Viloria as Filipino boxers having recent setbacks. Donaire, Pacquiao and Viloria were, just recently, considered Filipino Boxing’s best of the best. All three have come up short in their latest outings. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!