By Rob Maclean: In what was deemed a technical chess match between two amateur greats, Vasyl Lomachenko (10-1, 8ko’s) and Guillermo Rigondeaux’s (17-1, 11ko’s) first in a lifetime battle, was little more than a mismatch. Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko didn’t, at any point, allow Cuba’s Guillermo Rigondeaux to fight his style, until the beginning of round seven, when a perplexed and confidence shot Rigondeaux waved the white flag. Of course it’s difficult to claim a hand injury when the Cuban failed to land any real telling blows throughout the fight. Ultimately it was clear that Rigondeaux was beaten physically, but more telling than that, he mentally capitulated.
The opening round was tight, a feeling out session that is often natural in a high stakes match between two fighters with a respect for each other’s craft. From then it was apparent, Rigondeaux was struggling to land. Confused by movement, the defensive minded Cuban tried his best to keep Lomachenko at a safe distance, without mounting any offense.
It was interesting that Lomachenko mentioned the inside holding to the referee before the fight, as this had a massive say in the result.
The Cuban would try spoil and grab Lomachenko, he’s incredibly strong for a small athlete, however his opponent had the weight advantage. This made it obvious that he was holding, because Lomachenko would pull his arms and wrestle, sometimes escaping. Lomachenko has often been a fighter who looks to the referee, maybe too many times, ultimately Steve Willis took a point away, but rightfully so.
Many have stated that size made the difference between the two, with the Cuban jumping up two weight classes. But consider this. Throughout history we have seen David conquer Goliath, even when skill meets size and youth, Mayweather v Canelo comes to mind. Rigondeaux simply didn’t have enough skill to deal with Lomanchenko.
Rigndeaux tried to keep the fight at range, but Lomachenko is so skilled moving his feet, he could not outbox him nor could he bring his straight left into play. Rigondeaux has never been a fighter who puts out a high punch ratio, and fighting at range was futile against a busy mover and boxer like Lomachenko.
Rigondeaux couldn’t land on his opponent, nor could he keep him off, he was mystified and it often led him to dropping his head below his waist. But this wouldn’t work either, Lomachenko would not allow this, he would carry on working away, once with a hammer fist, only further underlining the point that Rigondeaux wasn’t boxing inside the rules so neither would he.
When Rigondeaux had a point taken away for holding, I believe mentally this was the end of the fight for him. He couldn’t launch an attack, he could no longer defend himself on the inside and was being out boxed at range. Some believe, including Bob Arum, that Rigondeaux simply quit and to most observers its seems entirely feasible.
A professional would have emptied the tank, throwing everything he had left at Lomachenko to try and save his record. Rigondeaux has had a hard adjustment to the professional ranks despite what his record suggests. His style is a low risk amateur approach, which not only led him to be avoided and a difficult sell, but ultimately let him down on his biggest night. He has often said he doesn’t like boxing and this showed.
As for Lomachenko, he did everything he could to beat his man. In some ways, it was like when Tyson Fury fought Wladimir Klitschko, he just refused to let his man settle down and box to his game plan, both men took their opponent out of their comfort zone. The Ukrainian came of age in the professional ranks on Saturday night and answered some questions raised in the Orlando Solido fight. Does this make him a pound for pound fighter? Yes, it does, but certainly not number one, not after ten fights, but he has great potential to be their one day.
There is no questioning Rigondeaux’s amateur record, nor his previous fights in the pro ranks, but does the manner of defeat stain his legacy?