CONGRATULATIONS to Guillermo Rigondeaux. He fought a smart, tactical fight and exhibited a style that proved to be frustrating for Nonito Donaire. But the Last Round?s scorecard will forever read that I had Donaire up by one point.
For the record, I fully accept Rigo?s win. There?s nothing vitriolic about my dispute with the verdict. Even though I had Nonito winning, it?s all about one?s perspective and even ?The Filipino Flash? concedes that he lost.
Once again, the styles makes fights aphorism held true, even with the judges as they were partial towards Rigo?s defensive techniques over Donaire?s aggression.
But I digress with their opinions and I think it merits a closer inspection.
SCORES. The scorecard turned in by judge John Stewart (114-113) was satisfactory. But I am in disagreement with the 115-112 by judge Tom Schreck and more so with the acerbic 116-111 turned in by judge Julie Lederman.
Based on Lederman?s card, Nonito only won rounds 2, 7 and 10. Check out the link to the scorecards at www.fightnews.com
Rigo looked sharper and faster in the first round and all three judges gave him the round. Nito won round 2 on Lederman and Schreck?s card. Rigo swept all cards in round 3.
But rounds 4 and 5 were where I am in full agreement with judge Stewart. This is where Rigo practically backpedalled his way around the ring, landing only sporadically with no follow-ups.
Nonito was pressing the action, landing not too frequently, too, if I may add, but in such a situation, I have to give the round to the aggressor, to the fighter initiating the exchanges and dictating the pace.
It?s not like Rigo was dominating Donaire in these rounds. He was just actually avoiding his opponent for majority of the time and certainly did nothing to earn that coveted 10-9 score.
I appreciate defensive tactics as much as the purists, but the questions that have to be asked are: Were those tactics effective? Did the defensive fighter dominate the round?
The same could hold true in round 6 and it was around this time that the crown started booing lustily.
Lederman and Schreck gave round 7 to Donaire, but Stewart disagreed and had Rigo winning.
Interestingly, Stewart gave rounds 8 and 9 to Donaire, but he was overruled by Lederman and Schenk who gave it to the Cuban fighter.
If any, their differences of opinion only underscore the close nature of the proceedings even at that stage of the fight.
All judges gave Donaire a 10-8 score for round 10 due to the knockdown. By this time, I had Donaire ahead.
However, I gave the last two rounds to Rigo and so did all three judges. Still, I thought Donaire shaded that fight by a close margin.
POWER FAILURE. In last Sunday?s column, I indicated that one of the weaknesses of Nonito was his tendency to rely too much on his power-punching and this unlikely debility was in full display throughout the fight.
The wily Cuban repeatedly capitalized on Donaire?s partiality towards throwing his vaunted left hook and made him miss badly on several occasions.
Although when that left hook landed in round 10, I thought I had nailed it since I predicted a 10th-round kayo, but it was not to be.
Rigo was in superior condition and truth be told, Donaire?s punches did not hit the target often enough to inflict debilitating damage.
Furthermore, there wasn?t full torque behind the punches since Rigo was perpetually on the move, and so Donaire?s blows could not land squarely and accurately.
The prodigious power in Donaire?s fists cannot be denied, but he should not expect to emasculate all of his opponents all the time. He should learn to utilize his superb boxing skills and that vaunted offensive arsenal.
He pushed for the knockout in that fight, instead of letting it come to him, and this led to disastrous consequences against a thinking, wily and cunning foe.
As for Rigo, I will probably never be a fan of his ?Cuban boxing style? as his camp defines it. He will surely earn more success on top of the ring as he is bound to give his opponents fits with his difficult, nightmarish style.
But I would much rather visit my dentist for a root canal than let Guillermo?s ?Run-go-low? bore me to death.
LAST ROUND. It?s on Maristela C. Ostrea and Madz Ostrea for a successful launching of Skin Perfection Body Contouring and Spa. Cheers!
