Professor vs. Pupil: Donaire vs. Rigondeaux
In June 1983 on Roberto Duran’s birthday, a young, sculpted Davey Moore, then WBA light middleweight champ, walked into Madison Square Garden to be brutalized by the Panamanian legend. From a thumb to the eye to a right hand that propelled him clear across the ring, Moore wasn’t prepared for an experienced fighter like Duran. To be fair, no one was ever truly prepared to face the great Hands of Stone. In 1981, Roberto Elizondo fought only 24 fights before he went against his manager’s advice and challenged the great Alexis Arguello. After suffering a busted tooth and going seven grueling rounds with the champ, Elizondo’s championship dreams of winning a lightweight title had faded. Even though Arguello was on the back end of a Hall of Fame career, he was still a force to be reckoned with.
Tonight, Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire (31-1, 20 KOs) faces Cuban sensation Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KOs) in a 122-pound championship bout for the WBO and WBA titles. Nonito is no Duran or Arguello. One day he may go viewed as an all-time great, but 32 fights aren’t enough to get a fighter near that fraternity. Yet, in the same way that Duran and Arguello bested their younger challengers through experience and calculated aggression, Donaire will defeat Rigondeaux. The Cuban is an excellent boxer, who uses head movement effectively, throws beautiful combinations, and punches hard – especially with a straight left hand thrown in a clubbing motion – followed by that right uppercut.
Yet, as talented as Rigondeaux is, he is not ready for a fighter the caliber of Donaire.
The Filipino Flash is in the prime of his career, has shown that he can box and then stop awkward opponents like Jeffrey Mathebula, or turn the fight into a brawl and hurt his opponent as he did against Mexico’s Jorge Arce. He is one of the few fighters in the world who has the skills to fight on the inside, outside, counter or attack. On the contrary, although Rigondeaux has a decorated amateur past, there was nothing about those fights that could get him mentally ready for a bout of this magnitude. Likewise, eleven bouts against the likes of Robert Marroquin and Teon Kennedy are not true barometers of greatness. When facing Donaire, you need to have shown that you can put together a great performance. Through the first couple rounds, neither fighter will take risks, but the fight will pick up its pace through the middle rounds as Donaire will start landing those left hooks to the body and head more frequently. Rigondeaux will show glimpses of greatness, but will not be able to withstand the onslaught by the tenth round when the fight will be stopped. Physically, Moore, Elizondo, and Rigondeaux were ready for Duran, Arguello, and Donaire. However, when it comes to experience, those fighters all needed to face at least one or two great fighters before they got in the ring with Hall of Famers.