Nonito Donaire

Nonito Donaire boxing news

Rigo the Great!!

rigondeaux55Not actually…Guillermo Rigodeaux 2-time Olympic gold medalist and now unified WBA/WBO Super Bantamweight champion has a lot more fish to fry to be considered great in the professional ranks. Having out-skilled and outclassed P4P fighter Nonito Donaire is just the beginning.

Prior to this fight Rigondeaux was considered by many just another decorated Cuban amateur fighter. Hosting an 11-0, 8-KO record, Rigondeaux had done nothing significant that would indicate he was any threat to the #3 or #4 P4P rated Donaire whose scalps on his boxing resume included names like Montiel, Arce and Darchinyan.

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Donaire Relinquishes Lofty Status to Rigondeaux

donaire555Nonito “The Filipinio Flash” Donaire had it all. He was riding high, a fan favorite, a top P4P fighter, 2012 fighter of the year and someone who seemed to have no weaknesses. His speed, power and ring savvy had been too much for anybody he faced. A few bruises here and there, an occasional hand injury to remind him of his dominant performances and a pocket full of dough to dull the pain. His face was becoming more and more recognizable to celebrity seekers.

He did and said all the right things. He pushed for VADA type testing for everyone. He often expressed a willingness to fight anyone, including Abner Mares; although, he did express a reluctance to fight Rigondeaux, but not because he feared him. No, it was for more of a practical reason. He didn’t think Guillermo Rigondeaux deserved the shot. Donaire felt Rigondeaux needed to beat a big name first.

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Rigondeaux dominates Donaire

donaire111WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (12-0, 8 KO’s) proved to be too fast, too skilled and too talented for WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (31-2, 20 KO’s) tonight in beating him by a 12 round unanimous decision at the Radio City Music Hall, in New York, New York, USA.

The judges scored the fight 114-113, 115-112, 116-111. The fight wasn’t nearly as close as the two judges that nearly had Donaire winning. Those scores were pretty sad and scary because you have to wonder what fight where those judges watching. I only had Donaire winning 10th round and that was because he nailed Rigondeaux with a left hand when the two were in close in a clinch.

Donaire wrestled out of it and hit Rigondeaux when he wasn’t expecting a shot while he was standing straight up. Let’s be honest: that was the way Donaire could knock Rigondeaux down because he was too slow and missing all night long with his shots. Rigondeaux got up from the knockdown and immediately resumed schooling Donaire and making him look really, really bad.

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Donaire vs Rigondeaux: Keys to Victory, Four to Explore, & Official Prediction!!

donaire#9(Tune in to “Left-Hook Lounge Radio” today at 2PM Eastern/11AM Pacific for a breakdown of the fight)

NONITO DONAIRE: KEYS TO VICTORY

For Donaire, the key to victory is one-dimensional with no need to analyze the obvious. Most will initially attempt to look at this matchup and single out his height and reach advantage. Reality tells us that being the bigger man in this showdown won’t mean much, as Donaire has never been a fighter to lean on an opponent or use his weight to wear them down. The physical battle will be meaningless. Instead giving way to the mental angle, which will ultimately be the deciding factor. Donaire has all the tools he needs to win and enough ring intelligence to dispatch them. The operative question at hand is how will he handle what could be the deepest adversity he’s ever seen…..mentally?

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Can Rigondeaux Really Challenge the Filipino Flash? I Say Not Likely

rigondeaux00Every great fighter needs a nemesis to challenge him, and long ago Nonito Donaire’s many critics picked one for him in WBA champion Guillermo Rigondeaux. Two equal champions battling for glory? That sounds much more exciting than the sobering reality that Rigondeaux is a massive underdog.

What are Donaire’s real chances of surviving Rigondeaux? Donaire’s many critics contend that Donaire’s amazing career was really just smoke and mirrors, masking the fact that he actually fought second-raters and outright bums.

Some “bums” there. Combined, Donaire’s last four opponents boast an impressive 55-8-2 record in world title fights.

And Rigondeaux? His last five opponents clock in at 2-2-2, with questionable interim titles generously included in the total.

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Left-Hook Lounge: Donaire vs Rigondeaux, Pacqiuao in Macau, & Freddie Roach’s Influence on Shiming

donaire3Cassidy H. (Queens, NYC): I’ve heard you speak strongly about Donaire in the past. Seems like he has all the momentum going into his clash with Rigondeaux this week. How do you see it all playing out?

Vivek W. (ESB): Nonito Donaire is one of those fighters I’ve always carried very close to heart. I love his genuine attitude outside the ring, as well as his ability inside of it. What has given me mixed emotions regarding Donaire in the past was the fact that, to me, he appears to be one of those talents that live up to the level of his competition. When the media starts placing your name on the mythical P4P list, and the sport starts tossing out accolades such as “Fighter of the Year”, and those type of things…..I think you truly have to bring a certain level of consistency to rate them. In my mind, Donaire hasn’t always carried the level of consistency I’d like to see in a fighter placed on such a high mantle.

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Mayweather picks Donaire to defeat Rigondeaux

donaire22Floyd Mayweather Jr. is going with WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20 KO’s) to get past WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KO’s) next week in their fight on April 13th at the Radio City Music Hall in New York, New York. Mayweather is picking the 30-year-old Donaire to defeat by knockout.

Mayweather said on his twitter: “People won’t like this but I’ll put it out there @filipinoflash (Donaire) will win VIA KO (knockout).”

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Rigondeaux CAN beat Donaire!

rigondeaux22Note: The “Road to Donaire-Rigondeaux” special replays today (Apr. 4) on HBO2 at 6:15 p.m. ET/PT.

With close to 400 fights in the mighty Cuban amateur boxing program Guillermo Rigondeaux is one of the most decorated amateur boxers in that program and the history of amateur boxing. The 12 losses that he accrued during his amateur run that saw him win 2 Olympic gold medals (2000, 2004) is short of amazing for such a long amateur career. After defecting from Cuba, the Cuban standout entered the professional ranks.

As a professional Rigondeaux’s 11-0 record and fight resume is nothing to brag about, because his amateur pedigree thus far has prevented him from getting the competitive fights…until now. In 10 days Rigondeaux will face his toughest test as a professional when he takes on P4P fighter Nonito Donaire for Donaire’s 122lb title. Many scribes, boxing analysts and insiders are predicting a Donaire win based on professional experience and size alone, discounting Rigondeaux deep participation in the amateurs. Some are even questioning Rigondeaux’s skills and heart. Donaire himself has said he sees a ‘flaw’ in Rigondeaux’s fight style that he will exploit on fight night.

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Arum willing to match Donaire against Mares on HBO

donaire773Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is saying that he’d be willing to match his fighter WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20 KO’s) against the unbeaten Abner Mares (25-0-1, 13 KO’s) in the future, but only if the 27-year-old Mares was willing to face the 30-year-old Donaire on HBO rather than Showtime where Mares typically fights.

Arum said to Ringside SEN Radio in Melbourne that if Mares is “Willing to come over and fight Donaire on HBO that’s fine. [Mares] doesn’t enjoy 25 percent of the popularity Donaire enjoys but if he wants to fight Nonito and get a real good pay we’ll be happy to fight Mares.”

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Donaire’s trainer predicting quick KO of Rigondeaux

By Jeff Sorby: WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire’s trainer Robert Garcia doesn’t see WBA super bantamweight champion Rigondeaux as doing any better than Fernando Montiel did against Donaire. Donaire destroyed Montiel in two rounds a couple a years ago in a fight that many boxing fans thought it would be a competitive match-up going into the fight.

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