By Chris Williams: As much as WBO super bantamweight Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20 KO’s) is considered to be the creme dela crème of the 122 lb. division, he’s basically just a one-armed fighter just like WBA World super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KO’s). The two of them will square off on April 13th at the Radio City Music Hall in New York.
What’s interesting is that the 32-year-old Rigondeaux takes a ton of heat for mainly just using his left hand for most of his punching, and there’s no doubt that this true, but Donaire is pretty much the same kind of fighter. Donaire also uses his left hand for much of his power punching, and his right hand isn’t nearly as developed in comparison.
Rigondeaux is a little bit more of a one-handed fighter than Donaire, but not by much. Donaire’s right hand doesn’t produce a lot of knockouts, and it’s mainly just something that he uses to make contact with his opponents.
What this means is that Donaire and Rigondeaux are both going into their April 13th fight kind of the same boat in terms of their inability to use both hands when punching. The only difference between them, besides Rigondeaux fighting out of the southpaw stance and Donaire from the orthodox side, is the fact that Donaire is so much bigger. He’s almost like a lightweight now fighting at 122 instead of 135.
Donaire has really filled out in the last year, and he looks really heavy in between fights and when he rehydrates for his bouts. I guess as long as he can get away with fighting at 122, Donaire will stay in this weight class because if he moves up to featherweight there will be immediate pressure for him to take on WBO champion Mikey Garcia or the WBC champ Daniel Ponce De Leon, and I don’t see Donaire doing well against either of those guys due their huge power.
Rigondeaux can’t do much about Donaire’s big size advantage, but he can take away Donaire’s only weapon, his left hand, by focusing his attention on blocking Donaire’s left hooks.
Nonito is totally in love with that one punch, and he throws it over and over and over again, especially when he’s facing guys that don’t have any clue how to block it. Rigondeaux knows how to block, duck or dodge the shot, so he’s not going to be getting nailed with these punches like other people.
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