By Jay McIntyre: When I think of Guillermo Rigondeaux (12-0, 8 KO’s) I hear Bill Cosby years ago saying: “I don’t know the key to success but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” The boxing public is a frustratingly bi-polar collective; prone to rapidly condemning or adoring a fighter with little justification.
Rigondeaux is no exception to this judgment and he seems to either be praised as a technician or condemned as a “boring fighter”. His match against Nonito Donaire incurred some unwarranted boos from the audience last April, and some executives at HBO apparently even expressed their own displeasure at the lack of fireworks during the bout. But what else could have been expected?
Both Donaire and Rigondeaux are at their best when countering. Looking toward this Saturday it is clear why Joseph Agbeko (29-4, 22 KO’s) was chosen as Rigondeaux’s next opponent. Joseph Agbeko is a worthy opponent that will contribute two things to the appeal of this fight: his established name from the bantamweight division and his forward moving, pressure-based attack. This will serve as a necessary foil to Guillermo Rigondeaux who likes to wait patiently and counter off of his opponents defensive lapses. Stylistically it is a fun match. Let’s take a closer look at what both men bring to the table in this week’s installment of “My Two Cents”.
Joseph Agbeko will be moving up in weight to fight for Rigondeaux’s WBA (super), WBO, and The Ring’s super bantamweight straps. Agbeko is an effective fighter, and has performed well in victory and in defeat against premier opposition (Vic Darchinyan, Yohnny Perez, Abner Mares, and Wladimir Sidorenko). He hasn’t fought a southpaw since 2009 and it would be unwise to say that Darchinyan and Rigondeaux have much in common beyond their right foot lead (after all Darchinyan didn’t get the nickname “The Raging Bull” from fighting patiently).
In order for Agbeko to win he will need to control Rigondeaux’s lead hand to work his left hook, vary his striking levels and feint to close the distance if we wants to beat the wily Cuban. Rigondeaux mills his lead hand (moves it in and out in a circular motion) quite effectively so Agbeko should tap that hand to draw a response from Rigondeaux so that he can hook off of it (while establishing lead outside foot control, of course) to rack up points and damage.
Agbeko’s left hook telegraphs a bit so he will need to set it up with his own jab, or time it off of Rigondeaux’s. If he gets Rigondeaux thinking about the hook he will retract his hand thereby leaving Agbeko to control the space with his own lead hand.
This is easier said than done as Rigondeaux has a tendency to make himself scarce as soon as he feels that he is in a compromised position. This then, brings me to my second point: Agbeko needs to mix up his striking. To think one step further from landing the first strike, Agbeko should also think about using this as set up to land another, more meaningful punch. For instance, a straight power shot to the body as Rigondeaux tries to circle away from the hook, or alternately, firing the hook as Rigondeaux reacts by moving away from the straight.
Agbeko will have to keep Rigondeaux guessing where the next strike will come from, so he should also fire lead shots from his power hand to the head and body. Against another orthodox fighter this is less advisable, but the clear lane given by a southpaw, makes this very allowable. Roy Jones Jr. did this to Antonio Tarver (a southpaw) in their first bout and it was crucial in giving Roy Jones the nod from the judges.
Lastly, Agbeko will need to feint constantly. One of the headaches that southpaws create simply by being themselves is the distance between their rear foot and their opponent’s rear foot. Consider how much distance the opponent must cover and how much time a clever counter puncher has to prepare his own attack when such an unusual gap must be bridged. Single punches won’t land on Rigondeaux often enough while he is piling up points against his adversary so Agbeko will need to feint for two reasons.
One, it will frustrate a counter puncher who needs something definitive to counter. If Rigondeaux counters an empty threat he will in turn leave himself exposed for a counter. Second, he needs to feint in order to veil his intention of bridging the gap and working whatever target presents itself. The body would be a nice option for Agbeko as it will tire Rigondeaux and make him easier to nail to the floor later in the rounds. What Agbeko should NOT do is walk forward while trying to trade pot shots with a sniper.
As was previously stated, Guillermo Rigondeaux will already have an advantage simply by the way he steps into the ring – with his right foot first. Statistically 90% of people are right handed and that lends itself to familiarity. If, however you are a left handed fighter then when someone seeks to engage you they have to rethink their entire approach.
The same rules do not apply to southpaws as they do to orthodox fighters simply because southpaws are used to boxing orthodox fighters while orthodox fighters are not as used to boxing southpaws. What does this mean? Rigondeaux will be more in tune with the angles of attack than Joseph Agbeko. Rigondeaux will need to keep Agbeko on the outside, and take pot shots at Agbeko whenever possible.
Although I mentioned that Agbeko can use his left hook to great effect (if he can set it up) this can also be something for Rigondeaux to exploit. If Agbeko wings his hook, he will thus overexposes himself to getting starched by a well-timed straight left from Rigondeaux. Mares had some success getting away from the hook when he fought Agbeko simply by backing straight up, but didn’t exploit the opportunity for a counter as much as I would have liked to see.
Rigondeaux usually doesn’t let his opponents get away with shenanigans like that more than once or twice. Sticking to one or, at most, two punches when countering will keep Rigondeaux on the outside and away from the game plan that Agbeko will be trying to employ. The longer Rigondeaux stays in one spot, the more opportunity he will give to Agbeko to get to work. Straight punches, combined with constant movement (circling the ring with lateral movement and staying off the ropes) will be Rigondeaux’s bread and butter as he tries to punish Agbeko for any mistakes he may make. This patient, attritional style can be a thing of beauty or topic of derision, depending on why you watch boxing. Either way, expect it tomorrow night.
The outcome should come as no surprise. If Rigondeaux stays true to who he is as a fighter then he will win, and I will be so bold as to say it will be by knockout in later rounds (let’s say round 10). I’ve never liked the idea – though admired the bravery – of a fighter going up in weight as that can affect his timing and punching speed (remember speed = power). Being pitted against a fighter that is not only familiar in his weight class, but also a smarter and faster counterpuncher operating out of a southpaw stance only exacerbates this problem. I don’t think Agbeko will have the ability to be as fluid as water throughout the fight; constantly adapting and changing to find new ways to hurt Rigondeaux for twelve rounds.
Rigondeaux will be an elusive counter puncher, despite how much this may irk those that love the brawls in the proverbial phone booth. While many of the boxing public can be quick to judge (one way or the other), I cannot bring myself to criticize Rigondeaux’s modus operandi. Everything he does in the ring makes perfect sense to me. I just hope that Guillermo hasn’t been so preoccupied by his detractors (as Al Bernstein indicated in his pre-fight analysis) that he feels the need to take some pointless risks for the sake of fireworks. Doing so would – I always believe – affect a game plan that is in tune with who you are as a fighter.
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