Nonito Donaire vs Guillermo Rigondeaux…What happens?
This Saturday at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, we have a much anticipated matchup between “The Filipino Flash” Nonito Donaire and the undefeated Cuban warrior “The Jackal” Guillermo Rigondeaux. This fight has been stated to have the possibility of being a great session between two gents who refuse to fail, but what are we actually going to see?
I have been waiting to see this contest because it definitely seems as if it would be very competitive, but truthfully, competitive doesn’t mean entertaining. After doing my homework on both fighters, I believe we will see a chess match between the two for the majority of the fight with both trying not to give up too much, and at times, waiting on that perfect shot. They are both good counter punchers, but picture Juan Manuel Marquez fighting… Ummmm…..Juan Manuel Marquez, you would get the slowest, most boring fight you would have ever witnessed, even though both fighters are arguably the best fighter out of Mexico!
Rigondeaux is a very polished amateur with wins in the mid 200’s with only about 4 losses, but he has only had 11 professional bouts, and they were not against fighters like Nonito. His skills are undeniable; speed, power, effective jab, very good foot movement, defense, patience, etc, but he has blemishes as well. There have been times where he has resulted back to amateur ways and will become really robotic, or he will believe he’s up on the scorecards and will run from his opponent to run the time out. Like I said, he definitely has skills and there is potential for him to compete and/or defeat almost any opponent standing in front of him.
Donaire will bring his speed and power as well, and with patience and a good chin, he gives anyone fits in the ring. He also is taller than Guillermo and has a longer reach than him. If you really want to know his fighting properties, you should ask people like: Vic Darchinyan, Raul Martinez, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr, and Jorge Arce, whom all were defeated by the hands of Donaire, which makes for a decent resume and experience. Donaire can get irresponsible at times while throwing combos and gets hit more than he needs to, so he can be hurt if he gets caught with something flush.
To come up with my prediction on Nonito Donaire vs Guillermo Rigondeaux I had to look a little deeper into their mannerisms and see what I think would likely happen, and it goes as such:
I think the first and maybe second round will be the slow testing round to see what the other fighter does, and then they will turn up the heat a little bit, at least one of them. I think they strategically try and figure each other out, and try and find their reach with a pawing jab and throw occasional power shots. I think Guillermo’s movement will start to seem preset in the middle rounds and gets timed by Donaire. I think it goes to the championship rounds and they heat up again, but it goes to the scorecards and Donaire wins off points by Split Decision.
Only way I believe this fight will be enjoyable is if Guillermo hits Donaire with something intense and turns this into a war, and if that happens, I predict Donaire wins via 5th round TKO. Either way it goes, Rigondeaux will suffer his first loss!
In the undercards, I like Mikael Zewski over Daniel Sostre, and Sean Monaghan over Dion Stanley, both by KO. Maybe they will be better than the Main Event!?!
Enjoy the fights!
[quote author=” – Phillip Harris”]Either way it goes, Rigondeaux will suffer his first loss![/quote]
