HBO Boxing Preview: Donaire vs Rigondeaux

Tomorrow night on HBO, two of the world’s best will battle for supremacy in the Jr. Featherweight division when Nonito Donaire takes on Guillermo Rigondeaux in a highly anticipated bout. I have my doubts as to how exciting the fight will be, but there is no doubt that the stakes are high and, at the very least, it should be interesting.

Nonito has long been near the top of fight fans and pundits mythical pound for pound lists, but he’s only recently began to take on the opposition that can solidify that status. Rigondeaux is a gifted boxer that can match his speed and, in my opinion, exceed his skill level. Donaire is going to be the significantly larger man and he needs to play the bully and not allow the Cuban to dictate a pace to his liking.

Rigondeaux is one of the greatest amateurs in history and you can see that skill level in his fights. He’s an excellent body puncher and has power in his left hand that belies his smaller stature. In this fight he is going to have to stand his ground, but also be careful not to give too many openings to his larger and more powerful rival.

The technical aspects of this fight are fascinating and there are several ways I can see the bout going. Unfortunately, one of them is Guillermo feeling Donaire’s power early and going into a shell; and another is Nonito getting reluctant to press the pace after eating a few clean counters. Neither of them would give us the action we’re hoping for in such a high caliber match up.

I’m attempting to toss aside my gut feelings there and focus on how important this bout is for both of them. While I don’t see any chance of a Hagler/Hearns scenario, I think we can do better than a debacle like Trinidad/DelaHoya. They both like to use feints, so get ready for a boatload of them. I’ve narrowed down my prediction to Donaire by knock out or Rigondeaux by decision.

One huge advantage I see is in the chin department, I don’t recall ever seeing Donaire stunned and Rigondeaux has had close calls with Ricardo Cordoba and Robert Marroquin, to his credit he recovered and won both fights; but neither of them have the finishing prowess of the Filipino.

The key may lie in Rigondeaux’s body punching. He throws straight lefts to the body from range and often jabs to the chest. These are highly effective strategies when you have them in your repertoire for several reasons. It’s not something that many fighters do, so it’s unfamiliar, any body work is a good thing & jabs to the chest really set up crosses to the chin. On the flip side these sequences will present Donaire with ample countering opportunities and he only needs one. I really don’t think Nonito will end this fight by walking Guillermo down, he’s too quick and slick. So I’m expecting the Cuban to build a lead on the cards, but somewhere mid too late I think a counter hook rocks him and Donaire doesn’t let him off the hook. However it transpires; let’s hope its void of the typical controversy we see on a weekly basis.

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