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Bleacher Report - Boxing: Nonito Donaire Loses to Guillermo Rigondeaux, What Happens Next?

Bleacher Report - Boxing
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Nonito Donaire Loses to Guillermo Rigondeaux, What Happens Next?
Apr 14th 2013, 05:46

Nonito Donaire and Guillermo Rigondeaux finally traded fisticuffs, and Ol' Rigo pulled it off in a fantastic display of boxing ability. Now both have some tough decisions to make.

Donaire will likely not seek the rematch. The fight, for all its hype and glamour as a super bantamweight unification match, stunk up the TV for many viewers at home.

It was the type of fight that boxing purists loved, watching with anticipation to see who could counter who or get the other out of position. As a chess match, it was lovely. As a barnburner, not so much.

With that in mind, Donaire's promoter Top Rank is going to look to send him up in weight seeking wars against the likes of Juan Manuel Lopez and maybe even Abner Mares, pending seriously intense negotiations.

Rigondeaux is likely to stay the 122-pound kingpin, defending his unified titles against contenders until maybe, after a required heavy campaign by Team Rigo, a lucrative rematch with Donaire materializes.

A more doable fight for Rigo would be a move north to featherweight to face fellow Top Rank stablemate and WBO champ Mikey Garcia.

Garcia, like Rigondeaux, is undefeated, and like Donaire, he is trained by his brother Robert Garcia. Donaire and Mikey are friends. It's an easy sell as a revenge story between two undefeated world champions.

Follow me on Twitter @JUSTINDAVIDTATE

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Bleacher Report - Boxing: Guillermo Rigondeaux Convincingly Defeats Nonito Donaire by Decision

Bleacher Report - Boxing
Bleacher Report - The open source sports network
Guillermo Rigondeaux Convincingly Defeats Nonito Donaire by Decision
Apr 14th 2013, 05:43

Guillermo Rigondeaux displayed world-class skills in the biggest fight of his professional career, putting on a boxing clinic against Nonito Donaire en route to a unanimous decision. With the convincing win, Rigondeaux handed the highly regarded Filipino Flash his first loss in 12 years.

While it wasn’t the all-action fight that some had predicted, it was impressive watching Rigondeaux execute the true definition of ring generalship, fighting at his desired pace and landing meaningful shots from different angles throughout the 12-round bout.

Rigondeaux did get caught with a good punch and was floored in Round 10, but he was able to overcome the knockdown and continued working his game plan for the remainder of the fight.

Donaire never really seemed to know what to do with Rigo’s movement, following the slick southpaw the whole fight without effectively cutting off the ring. Midway through the bout, trainer Robert Garcia began to implore his fighter to throw more punches, but Donaire was never able to let his hands go. Other than the round in which Donaire floored Rigondeaux, it was hard to find a round to score for the Filipino Flash.

In his post-fight interview with HBO’s Max Kellerman (h/t Yahoo Sports), Donaire admitted to not having studied Rigondeaux, though he said he took nothing away from El Chacal. It became obvious early that Donaire was simply looking to land one big shot, perhaps buying too much into the pre-fight hype regarding Rigondeaux’s suspect chin.

Yes, Donaire was able to knock Rigondeaux down, but like the Cuban fighter said in the post-fight interview, you can’t just win a fight with one punch.

While Harold Lederman—HBO’s unofficial judge—had the fight 118-109 for Rigondeaux, the official scorecards were a little closer:

 

OFFICIAL RESULTS: 114-113, 115-112, 116-111 in favor of Guillermo Rigondeaux @rigoelchacal305 wins by unanimous decision #DonaireRigondeaux

HBOboxing (@HBOboxing) April 14, 2013

 

The final CompuBox numbers show that Rigondeaux controlled the fight by throwing and landing more punches:

 

Final PunchStats for #DonaireRigondeaux: twitter.com/CompuBox/statu…

CompuBox (@CompuBox) April 14, 2013

 

So where do both men go from here?

Donaire said after the fight that if a rematch does take place, it will have to be at a higher weight class. With the masterful boxing performance that Rigondeaux put on, it’s hard to imagine that anyone will be eager to face the southpaw.

If Rigondeaux decides to move in weight—like Donaire plans to do—a number of enticing fights can be made, including one against Donaire’s stablemate, Mikey Garcia.

With Donaire likely to take a break from boxing to spend time with his family and have surgery on his shoulder, Rigondeaux will probably have to look elsewhere for his next fight.

Let us know who you would like each man to face next.


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Bleacher Report - Boxing: Donaire vs. Rigondeaux Results: What the Win Means for The Jackal Moving Forward

Bleacher Report - Boxing
Bleacher Report - The open source sports network
Donaire vs. Rigondeaux Results: What the Win Means for The Jackal Moving Forward
Apr 14th 2013, 06:00

Guillermo Rigondeaux beat Nonito Donaire via unanimous decision on Saturday night in what is The Jackal's biggest win of his career.

Rigondeaux came in as the WBA super bantamweight champion and a highly decorated amateur. He's said to have fought 400 amateur fights and won gold medals at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. With the win, Rigondeaux is now the WBO super bantamweight champion as well.

A victory like this can't be understated for Rigondeaux. Donaire came in with a 31-1 record. Boxing fans won't be shocked that he lost, but it will likely have been a bit of a surprise.

Those wondering whether or not Rigondeaux was worth the hype got plenty of evidence as to his true talent. This is a fighter Freddie Roach has gone on record labeling as one of the best he's ever seen.

The way Rigondeaux outclassed Donaire was a masterful display. This isn't a fighter who's looked great against weak opposition and then wilted against tougher fighters. Boxing has always been full of paper champions. Rigondeaux is not one of those boxers.

Quite frankly, the sky is the limit for him at this point. This fight gives both he and those involved in the sport the affirmation necessary to promote him as pound for pound one of the best in the sport.

Now it's just a matter of how big a star he can truly become.

Rigondeaux should be able to take on any and all contenders for the title. With the way he worked Donaire around the ring, it's hard seeing anybody be able to get past Rigondeaux's speed and defense. He completely neutralized Donaire and took him out of the fight.

You could see these two meeting down the road again at some point. Rigondeaux and Donaire put on a the kind of performance that makes boxing fans love the sport. It was the sweet science at its best. Watching two heavyweights go at it and try to knock each other out is fun and all, but there's something different in watching the kind of fight these two put on.

Donaire might not have much of a chance in any prospective rematch, but fans would surely love to see another fight between the two.

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Bleacher Report - Boxing: Nonito Donaire Shows He Still Has Long Way to Go with Disappointing Loss

Bleacher Report - Boxing
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Nonito Donaire Shows He Still Has Long Way to Go with Disappointing Loss
Apr 14th 2013, 05:56

Nonito Donaire entered his bout against Guillermo Rigondeaux as one of the hottest boxers—seemingly capable of dominating whoever tried to stand in his way.

Having won his past 30 fights and being crowned the 2012 Fighter of the Year, Donaire had reason to have such confidence. His dazzling skills and raw power had made him the most complete boxer in the world in the Super Bantamweight division and arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Yet, when he came up against the talented Rigondeaux, The Filipino Flash was nothing other than a disappointment—losing in a unanimous points decision.

The undefeated Cuban (12-0, 8 KO) showed patience and consistency as he broke down the flashy Donaire. He was patient, and he was tactical—waiting for his opponent to come at him and make mistakes, and then capitalizing on the opportunities presented for him.

And whilst it was only one loss, it was a very disappointing showing from Donaire, who appeared less determined than his opponent throughout the fight.

Maybe he was just frustrated with the lack of chances he had to knock down Rigondeaux; maybe there was something else that was bothering him. 

But either way, Donaire was a distant second in terms of class, patience and talent on the night to Rigondeaux, and he showed that he still has a long way to go in his claims to be the best.

"Donaire's an excellent fighter but you cannot win a fight with one shot", said Rigondeaux after the fight (via Jon Saraceno, USA Today), and his assessment of Donaire couldn't have been more correct.

For it's one thing to have a flashy style built around big hits and clean strikes, but when he came up against an opponent that had a more conservative game, and one that looks to work the body, Donaire was shown to have no comeback.

The judges might have found 113, 112 and 111 points for Donaire, respectively, but the reality was that Donaire was simply outclassed here.

He did not have an answer to Rigondeaux's discipline and consistency.

Without a style that can adapt to different fighters, Donaire will not go as far as many were projecting when his streak was in tact and the accolades were flowing in. 

Moreover, without the wisdom to accept that different fighters will require different tactics, Donaire won't get anywhere near to where he'd like to be—being crowned the best of them all.

For perhaps the most alarming issue on the night for Donaire was that of his brashness—stating after the fight that he didn't even study for the fight. 

Which for an HBO-televised fight, and one against a two-time Olympic champion nonetheless, suggests that the star fighter has some serious weaknesses in his game.

There is little doubting that Donaire has the skill set to become a genuine talent, perhaps even the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. But until he can learn to adapt his game—mostly his mental toughness and discipline—he will struggle to make the jump across from "great" to "elite."

Donaire simply tried to mail it in Saturday night, and it showed.

Regardless of whether he'd won one or 30 fights coming into the night, you just can't pull that against good fighters and expect to emerge victorious.

The Filipino Flash had said prior to the fight (per Jon Saraceno, USA Today) that this fight was "going to (come down to) who is the smartest guy in the ring and who has the biggest heart.'' If only he'd listened to his own words, as a 12-year streak came to an abrupt and largely disappointing end at Radio Music City Hall.

2012 must already seem like such a long time ago for Nonito Donaire.

 

Hit me up on Twitter for more sports goodness: Follow @dantalintyre

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ESPN.com - Boxing: Rigondeaux Tops Donaire In Unanimous Decison

ESPN.com - Boxing
Latest Boxing news from ESPN.com
Rigondeaux Tops Donaire In Unanimous Decison
Apr 14th 2013, 06:21

Visit ESPN.com for the complete story.

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ESPN.com - Boxing: Rigondeaux unanimously outpoints Donaire

ESPN.com - Boxing
Latest Boxing news from ESPN.com
Rigondeaux unanimously outpoints Donaire
Apr 14th 2013, 05:01

Guillermo Rigondeaux retained his WBA super bantamweight championship and added the WBO super bantamweight belt, unanimously outpointing Nonito Donaire on Saturday night at Radio City Music Hall.

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Boxing News: Rigondeaux schools Donaire

Boxing News
Rigondeaux schools Donaire
Apr 14th 2013, 04:17

By Chris Williams: WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (12-0, 8 KO’s) easily defeated WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (31-2, 20 KO’s) by an easy 12 round unanimous decision at the Radio City Music Hall in New York, New York. The final judges scores were 114-113, 115-112, and 116-111. Donaire was dominated in the [...]

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ESPN.com - NYFightBlog: Rigondeaux beats Donaire at Radio City

ESPN.com - NYFightBlog
ESPN.com presents Boxing
Rigondeaux beats Donaire at Radio City
Apr 14th 2013, 05:11

The Cuban-born hitter Guillermo Rigondeaux had a rep as an amateur ace, with two Olympic golds and a 400-12 record under his belt. He proved to the world that he's pretty awesome as a pro, too, getting the better of pound-for-pound ace Nonito Donaire, the WBO super bantam champ, over twelve rounds at Radio City Music Hall on Saturday night. This Top Rank production was no trade-fest, back and forth rumble; rather, WBA champ Rigo showed that he has an ultra firm grasp of the sweet science.

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Bleacher Report - Boxing: Guillermo Rigondeaux Defeats Nonito Donaire Via Unanimous Decision

Bleacher Report - Boxing
Bleacher Report - The open source sports network
Guillermo Rigondeaux Defeats Nonito Donaire Via Unanimous Decision
Apr 14th 2013, 04:21

It wasn't easy, but Guillermo Rigondeaux took a huge step in his quest to become a star with a win over Nonito Donaire by unanimous decision.

When it was announced that these two great champions were set to meet, the boxing community knew it could be a special matchup. It didn't disappoint.

Donaire came in as the slight favorite. Having won 30 consecutive fights, he was on the precipice of claiming a spot among the sport's top pound-for-pound fighters.

Instead, Rigondeaux established himself as a serious threat early on and used elite hand speed and footwork to consistently outpoint Donaire. Once he proved that these two were at least on equal footing, the action really started to pick up.

While Rigondeaux was able to frustrate Donaire with his ability to circle away from his power shots and land clean combinations, it was only a matter of time before Donaire landed something clean. It happened in the 10th round when Donaire sent his opponent to the canvas. It wouldn't be enough. The fight would settle right back into Rigondeaux's favor in the final two rounds.

As with any high-profile fight that goes to decision, this is one that fans are sure to debate for quite some time. Ultimately, Donaire didn't press the issue enough to earn the victory.

This was a close fight, but Rigondeaux has to be given the credit for fighting his fight and dictating the pace and distance throughout. Donaire had his moments, but this was a huge victory for Rigondeaux. Both fighters are impressive champions with quality records. Fans certainly wouldn't object to watching these two go at it at least one more time.

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ESPN.com - Boxing: Verdejo scores first-round KO of Gutierrez

ESPN.com - Boxing
Latest Boxing news from ESPN.com
Verdejo scores first-round KO of Gutierrez
Apr 14th 2013, 03:52

Felix Verdejo scored a crushing first-round knockout of Steve Gutierrez on Saturday, in the undercard of the Nonito Donaire-Guillermo Rigondeaux junior featherweight title fight.

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Boxing News: Nader defeats Santos

Boxing News
Nader defeats Santos
Apr 14th 2013, 02:57

By Jim Dower: Marcos Nader (17-0-1, 2 KO's) remained unbeaten in defeated EBU-EU middleweight champion Roberto Santos (18-7-3, 10 KO's) by a 10 round unanimous decision tonight in their rematch at the Multiversum in Schwechat, Austria. The final judges' scores were 116-112, 116-112, and 115-113. The two fighters had fought last November with the fight [...]

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Boxing News: Haye targeting Wawrzyk, not Charr for June 29th fight

Boxing News
Haye targeting Wawrzyk, not Charr for June 29th fight
Apr 14th 2013, 01:27

By Scott Gilfoid: Former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (26-2, 24 KO's) reportedly has zero interest in Manuel Charr in Haye's next fight on June 29th at the Manchester Arena in the UK. Instead, the word is from the Telegraph that Haye wants to fight unbeaten and untested Andrew Wawrzyk (27-0, 13 KO's). This is [...]

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Boxing News: Purses for tonight: Donaire – $1.32 million, Rigondeaux – $750,000

Boxing News
Purses for tonight: Donaire – $1.32 million, Rigondeaux – $750,000
Apr 14th 2013, 00:42

By Chris Williams: WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KO's) will be making his best payday of his career tonight when he gets a guaranteed $750,000 for his unification fight against WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20 KO's) at the Radio City Music Hall in New York, New York. For his [...]

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