By Gerardo Granados: The boxer who risked little in boxing won the fight tonight with WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (12-0, 8 KO’s) beating WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (31-2, 20 KO’s).
Meanwhile, the fighter that was pressuring the entire fight lost the fight with Donaire coming up empty. Maybe the boxing purist will admire this bout but could it be possible that for the majority of boxing fans it was a slow tempo with few action fight, the booing from the audience was clearly audible on TV and on the bar too.
As usual the official score cards showed the personal boxing taste and personal appreciation of the fight. I scored the fight 114 – 113 for the winner by unanimous decision and new WBO super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux.
First round – Both fighters study each other, but it was Rigo who counter punched with power and accurcy and that set the tandem for the rest of the fight. Rigo 10 – Nonito 9.
Second round – Pretty much the same as the first round. Rigondeaux was brilliant moving his waist and using his legs to avoid Donaire´s predictable attack. Rigo 10 – Nonito 9.
Third round – Semi paused fight tempo, Rigondeaux ring smart´s really show who is in charge, meanwhile Donaire fails to adjust, doesn’t use his jab or faint his punches and leaves open for the accurate counter-punching. Rigo 10 – Nonito 9.
Fourth round – Donaire keeps the pressure just as he has been doing but Rigondeaux takes a rest. Nonito 10 – Rigo 9.
Fifth round – Rigo looks confident and Donaire too cautious it seems he wants to win landing his big left but fails to prepare his shot. Rigo 10 – Nonito 9.
Sixt round – A tactical fight, the game plan and execution of Rigondeaux is simply flawless. Donaire keeps on fighting the same way he did in the first three rounds. Rigo 10 – Nonito 9.
Seventh round – Donaire doesn´t use his jab and still is an easy target for the accurate counter punching. The fight has a slow tempo and you can hear the audience losing patience. Rigo 10 – Nonito 9.
Eighth round – Guillermo takes a rest and Nonito manages to win a close competitive round. Nonito 10 – Rigo 9.
Nineth round – Both fighters too cautious waiting to capitalize on the adversary´s error. Nonito 10 – Rigo 9.
Tenth round – Finally Donaire is able to land his big left but fails to finish off Rigondeaux who shows off his superb defensive skills. Nonito 10 – Rigo 8.
Eleventh round – Rigondeaux keeps on waiting and risks only the strictly necessary, Donaire pressures him and wins a close appreciation round. Nonito 10 – Rigo 9.
Last round – Rigondeaux hurts Donaire at the beginning of the round but doesn’t rush to finish him off, meanwhile Nonito tries to survive the round. It was disappointing that Rigondeaux didn´t showed interest to finish off a badly hurt opponent. Rigo 10 – Nonito 9.
Rigondeaux proved to be an excellent and savvy boxer and Nonito looked like an one dimensional pressure fighter. It would be great if Guillermo showed more hunger and desire to destroy his opponent on his next fight if he is willing to become a huge draw that can sell out an arena or to become a big pay per view sale, because his counter and defensive boxing style might not be fan friendly enough for the majority of viewers.
A friend of mine who is a casual boxing fans thinks this fight was quite boring. It was not boring but it was not fan friendly, is the reader anxious to see Rigondeaux fight again on the main event?
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