Donaire: I want Rigondeaux next

By Boxing News - 11/10/2013 - Comments

donaire4By Chris Williams: Following his less than impressive 9th round TKO win last night over a non-prime version of 37-year-old Vic Darchinyan (39-6-1, 28 KO’s), Nonito Donaire (32-2, 21 KO’s) said to HBO analyst Max Kellerman that he wants to face WBA/WBO super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (12-0, 8 KO’s) to try and avenge his defeat to him earlier this year in April. However, but let’s be real here, Donaire didn’t look good against Darchinyan, and appeared very vulnerable. This is the type of guy that Rigondeaux will beat again, and likely very easily.

Donaire said this to Kellerman after the fight:

“I’m going with your boy [Rigondeaux], how about that?”

Kellerman: “Rigondeaux?”

Donaire: “That’s your boy, Baby. That’s who I want.”

I think Rigondeaux will beat Donaire just as easily as he did before. There was nothing that I saw from Donaire’s performance last night that would lead me to believe that he would do any better in a rematch with the Cuban Rigondeaux. The shot that Donaire hurt Darchinyan with, a left hook, would never land against a talented fghter like Rigondeaux. He wouldn’t foolishly drop his guard the way that Darchinyan kept doing last night. Rigondeaux would completely nullify Donaire’s left hook and force him to try and beat him with his jab and right hand. Believe, Donaire is not going to beat Rigondeaux with a jab and right hand. He’ll take those weapons away from Donaire as well and end up clowning him worse than he did last time.

Rigondeaux is hardly Kellerman’s boy. He thinks Rigondeaux is a talented fighter, but Kellerman also believes Donaire has a ton of talent. That comment from Donaire really wasn’t necessary.

Donaire is in a tough situation right now. He says he wants WBO featherweight champion Orlando Salido, but he’s not going to be able to get a fight against him until some point next year, because Salido will be facing two-time Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko next. There’s no telling who will win that fight. Donaire can either wait until those two fight to face the winner of that bout in the 2nd half of 2014, or he can stay busy and try to avenge his loss to Rigondeaux. If Donaire loses to Rigondeaux, which would seem likely, he’ll still be able to get the winner of the Salido-Lomachenko fight, although I think the writing would be on the wall at that point for Donaire as far as him having any chance of beating the winner of that fight. I believe both Salido and Lomachenko are too big and too strong for the slender-framed Donaire.

Donaire was trailing on the cards against Darchinyan by the scores 78-74,78-74 and 76-76 at the time of the stoppage. Things were looking pretty bleak for him until he was able to hurt Darchinyan with a left hook and then put him down on the canvas with a follow up left hook to the head. Darchinyan was on shaky legs after he got back to his feet, and he made a huge mistake by failing to clinch Donaire to try and get out of the round.

Darchinyan had said that he had learned what to do when he was hurt from his previous knockout loss to Donaire, but last night he showed that he still hadn’t learned what to do when he was hurt. At 37, you would think that someone would have told Darchinyan that he should hold when he’s been badly hurt, but it looks like no one did or he just didn’t have the sense enough to realize that he needed to clinch to try and get out of the round and let his head clear.



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