Is there anyone who thought Donaire won, or the fight was razor close?

[Beanflicker]

I had Donaire winning 2 rounds, and I can understand giving him 3.

But sweet jesus, I don't see how the fight was close at all. Yeah there was not much happening, but you have to figure there was one guy who had complete control of the ring and was consistently landing the clean, effective punches.

Yeah if you count Compubox totals the rounds seemed close, but Compubox will often give guys credit for punches that are glancing blows, half blocked, blocked entirely, and sometimes punches that miss the target entirely. I don't think there is any question that Rigo was landing the clean, effective blows in the fight, with the exception of course of the knockdown and the nice counter hook he nailed Rigo with early on.

It's always interesting when a fight like this comes up because you get to see the difference in which fight fans view boxing. I suspect a lot of people gave Donaire rounds he got lit up in just because he was moving foward (boxing rewards "effective aggressiveness", not just "aggressiveness").

Anyway I'd love to hear some people justify a close fight or even a Donaire win. Maybe you guys saw something I didn't. I saw Rigo taking Donaire to school.

[TheMacMagician]

I gave Donaire two rounds also pal and had one round draw where barely anything happened, cant remember which round. 114 - 113 was terrible....

Rigo I thought for a lot of early rounds especially made Donaire look silly. I was quite surprised that Donaire just didn't adjust at all. He really needed to ramp up the pressure but I'm betting Rigo hit pretty hard which is why he didn't.... Late in the third round Donaire tried to touch gloves, which they did I think, but it was for something limp, which to me just looked as a sign that Donaire conceded. He then did it again at the end of round 4 or 5. And that last round, Donaire just stayed at home. Strange he did that in so many rounds as he has the power to smoke anyone at that level IMO....

I really enjoyed the fight aside from a couple of the later rounds maybe 9 and 10 that were super quiet...

[Gandalf]

It wasn't a close fight at all by my reckoning and I found it very odd to hear the commentator keep giving Donaire credit just for coming forward, missing and never seeming to land. Rigo was too conservative for my sensibilities, but as a boxing fan, I can see when someone is winning rounds by being tactically clever and he was smart. He was making Donaire look VERY, VERY slow and one dimensional. The KD was a bit lucky too, but that final round was a total schooling. The fight was judged closer than it should have been and Donaire fought like a scared man towards the end. Rigo never fought scared, he fought clever.

[TheMacMagician]

It wasn't a close fight at all by my reckoning and I found it very odd to hear the commentator keep giving Donaire credit just for coming forward, missing and never seeming to land. Rigo was too conservative for my sensibilities, but as a boxing fan, I can see when someone is winning rounds by being tactically clever and he was smart. He was making Donaire look VERY, VERY slow and one dimensional. The KD was a bit lucky too, but that final round was a total schooling. The fight was judged closer than it should have been and Donaire fought like a scared man towards the end. Rigo never fought scared, he fought clever.

I'd be tempted to agree with that Miles. Although saying that, I thought there were a few moments scattered through the fight where Rigo looked almost ferocious and really let the punches go. Just not enough. I'd be tempted to say that if he had opened up earlier, Donaire was a touch scared, and could have brought on a stoppage. Although on the flip side, when he opened up, he left himself opne and got clocked a couple of times, one being the knockdown.

[Silkeyjoe]

It wasn't a close fight at all by my reckoning and I found it very odd to hear the commentator keep giving Donaire credit just for coming forward, missing and never seeming to land. Rigo was too conservative for my sensibilities, but as a boxing fan, I can see when someone is winning rounds by being tactically clever and he was smart. He was making Donaire look VERY, VERY slow and one dimensional. The KD was a bit lucky too, but that final round was a total schooling. The fight was judged closer than it should have been and Donaire fought like a scared man towards the end. Rigo never fought scared, he fought clever.

What did you expect to hear? Something honest about a top rank star? Arum would have him killed, or at least out of job!

[Gandalf]

It wasn't a close fight at all by my reckoning and I found it very odd to hear the commentator keep giving Donaire credit just for coming forward, missing and never seeming to land. Rigo was too conservative for my sensibilities, but as a boxing fan, I can see when someone is winning rounds by being tactically clever and he was smart. He was making Donaire look VERY, VERY slow and one dimensional. The KD was a bit lucky too, but that final round was a total schooling. The fight was judged closer than it should have been and Donaire fought like a scared man towards the end. Rigo never fought scared, he fought clever.

I'd be tempted to agree with that Miles. Although saying that, I thought there were a few moments scattered through the fight where Rigo looked almost ferocious and really let the punches go. Just not enough. I'd be tempted to say that if he had opened up earlier, Donaire was a touch scared, and could have brought on a stoppage. Although on the flip side, when he opened up, he left himself opne and got clocked a couple of times, one being the knockdown.

Sure, good points and I agree with what you say. Donaire was fighting scared and I guess that frustrated me in terms of Rigo as he could have been doing that little bit more. The KD pushed him into realising that this wasn't a strolling boxing match and things might not be so easy and he started to look for the big punches and in doing so, he cracked Donaire's face open. He could have done that sooner based on Donaire doing nothing really. And that KD was iffy. Not a proper KD.

[Silkeyjoe]

I had this fight close:

I gave Donaire rd 4, 5 and 10 with the 10th being a 10-8 and Rigor ds 1, 3, 6 and 12. Rds 2, 7, 8 and 11 I gave draws giving 116-115 to Rigo.

If I take out the draws and had to give a winner to each rd id give Rigo 7 and 6 and donaire 11 and 2 making it 114-113 Rigo.

I felt a lot of Rounds Rigo did nothing in and although probably landed cleaner shots, didn’t land enough shots to win the rounds.. He was too slick though for Donaire who I thought would win by KO

I know Ill probably be slated for scoring too many even rounds but i thought a lot were hard to score. Round 5 I gave to Donaire because Rigo did absolutely nothing.

Any case I gave it to Rigo so happy the judges got it right. When I heard the big score of 116-111 I though it was going to be a Donaire robbery.

[beenKOed]

That was not a close fight in any way, Rigondeaux won the fight convincingly and left no doubts about who the better boxer is.
I was surprised, very surprised, that Donaire was never in the fight except for one brief moment. Donaire had no answer for Rigondeaux, and couldn't adapt, he is not on the same level as Rigondeaux.
Now that I have acknowledged the skill and dominance of Rigo in the
ring, I would like to say that I thought this fight was as boring as watching a bucket of crystal clear water.
According to Kellerman, if I was a "boxing purist", this fight would have been exciting as hell or a pure delight to watch.
Rigondeaux is a very skilled boxer, you could even say he is a magician in the ring, but if anyone ever tries to tell me he is exciting or fun to watch I'm going to laugh in their face.

[Beanflicker]

I agree it was a boring fight. I love the "sweet science" as much as anyone, but there really wasn't enough offense to make for a compelling viewing experience. It was just one of those bad stylistic matchups, where two counter-punchers with big power stand around waiting for the other to move, like a "you punch first", "no, YOU punch first" kinda deal we've seen tons of times over the years.

I'm willing to give Rigo a pass on that one though, because when you're in your 12th pro fight and you're taking on someone of the caliber, and someone as beloved and talked about as Nonito Donaire, it may be best to get the win by any means, no matter how unappealing, and then worry about looking good the next time out. Also, Nonito is a very skilled counter puncher with brutal KO power, so stylistically it doesn't make sense to take too many risks.

I think Nonito deserves his fair share of the blame as well. He fought just as cautious as Rigo for the most part and didn't attack as much as he should have.

[beenKOed]

I agree it was a boring fight. I love the "sweet science" as much as anyone, but there really wasn't enough offense to make for a compelling viewing experience. It was just one of those bad stylistic matchups, where two counter-punchers with big power stand around waiting for the other to move, like a "you punch first", "no, YOU punch first" kinda deal we've seen tons of times over the years.

I'm willing to give Rigo a pass on that one though, because when you're in your 12th pro fight and you're taking on someone of the caliber, and someone as beloved and talked about as Nonito Donaire, it may be best to get the win by any means, no matter how unappealing, and then worry about looking good the next time out. Also, Nonito is a very skilled counter puncher with brutal KO power, so stylistically it doesn't make sense to take too many risks.

I think Nonito deserves his fair share of the blame as well. He fought just as cautious as Rigo for the most part and didn't attack as much as he should have.

Good post, and I agree with almost everything, but I can't give Rigondeaux a pass. I now believe all the hype about him, so he should have done more. The first ten rounds should have been a lot more like the last two, in my opinion.

[p4pking]

I agree it was a boring fight. I love the "sweet science" as much as anyone, but there really wasn't enough offense to make for a compelling viewing experience. It was just one of those bad stylistic matchups, where two counter-punchers with big power stand around waiting for the other to move, like a "you punch first", "no, YOU punch first" kinda deal we've seen tons of times over the years.

I'm willing to give Rigo a pass on that one though, because when you're in your 12th pro fight and you're taking on someone of the caliber, and someone as beloved and talked about as Nonito Donaire, it may be best to get the win by any means, no matter how unappealing, and then worry about looking good the next time out. Also, Nonito is a very skilled counter puncher with brutal KO power, so stylistically it doesn't make sense to take too many risks.

I think Nonito deserves his fair share of the blame as well. He fought just as cautious as Rigo for the most part and didn't attack as much as he should have.

Good post, and I agree with almost everything, but I can't give Rigondeaux a pass. I now believe all the hype about him, so he should have done more. The first ten rounds should have been a lot more like the last two, in my opinion.

It's a lot easier said than done, Beanflicker is dead on here. I thought the first minute of the fight was extremely telling in that both guys earned huge respect for their power off the bat. You could tell Donaire realized early on that getting KO'ed was a possibility, and from there on he rarely took any more risks than Rigo did. It's not fair to say he was the one pressing the action when all he did was plod forward for most of the fight. Rigondeaux was easily outboxing him, the onus isn't on him to wade in like a fool when Donaire was only looking for one shot much of the time. Clearly Rigo had every reason to be wary of that shot as it turned out, and I think the championship rounds really redeemed how negative he was in a few of the middle ones. He obviously has a chin and great recovery powers, I thought it was extremely impressive the way he took back control of the fight so soon after the KD, and the 12th round was just a mugging. Pretty damn good fight in the end imo.

[IamInuit]

I really enjoyed it.A fight that turned into a boxing match. The idea is to hit and not get hit and Rigo showed the template of how that is done and against the man hailed to be the cream of the crop. Rigo is not getting nearly enough credit. Instead some are concentrating on what Donaire didn't do and forgetting the reasons he could not do what was expected. Rigo is the reason.The right guy won but I cannot fathom how those two judges had it 114/113 and 115/112. They should both have their licenses revoked.Then there was lapdog making excuses for Donaire almost from the opening bell. He had a poor training camp, went for his first real run the morning of the fight, had a new baby on the way and the kicker for me that most of his training was done by phone. To use these excuses at this level of the sport is preposterous. Perhaps Donaire should take up another line of work. Oh yeah and the 3 year shoulder injury post fight added excuse was laughable and pathetic at the same time. He got shit kicked plain and simple.Lapdogs closing statements essentially claiming he'd like to see a rematch with a 100% Donaire but Rigo would have to go to 126 was classless. It suggests again that this was not the real deal. Cant people just give credit where credit is due. Donaire got outworked, out boxed, out punched, out sped, out pointed out flashed and out ring general shipped. Other then those minor details, he won the fight.

[Spicoli]

Doniare looked like he didn't have a clue in there. He fought Rigos fight and it wasn't by choice. He was being manuvered, feinted and was a step behind the majority of the time and his vaunted power was neutralized. He had zero plan B. Rigo will never blaze a fire and have the edge of my sofa being worn out but he did what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do it and controlled the ring and Donaire just plodded in and looked like a spectator and didn't get off with effect. I don't think its rocket science, Donaire was outclassed.

[Silkeyjoe]

I really enjoyed it.A fight that turned into a boxing match. The idea is to hit and not get hit and Rigo showed the template of how that is done and against the man hailed to be the cream of the crop. Rigo is not getting nearly enough credit. Instead some are concentrating on what Donaire didn't do and forgetting the reasons he could not do what was expected. Rigo is the reason.The right guy won but I cannot fathom how those two judges had it 114/113 and 115/112. They should both have their licenses revoked.Then there was lapdog making excuses for Donaire almost from the opening bell. He had a poor training camp, went for his first real run the morning of the fight, had a new baby on the way and the kicker for me that most of his training was done by phone. To use these excuses at this level of the sport is preposterous. Perhaps Donaire should take up another line of work. Oh yeah and the 3 year shoulder injury post fight added excuse was laughable and pathetic at the same time. He got shit kicked plain and simple.Lapdogs closing statements essentially claiming he'd like to see a rematch with a 100% Donaire but Rigo would have to go to 126 was classless. It suggests again that this was not the real deal. Cant people just give credit where credit is due. Donaire got outworked, out boxed, out punched, out sped, out pointed out flashed and out ring general shipped. Other then those minor details, he won the fight.

Are you mad? - means he gave donaire 4 rounds. You could easily give Donaire 3 of the first 9 and 10-8 round 10. I had it 116-115 but scoring 4 even rounds is frowned upon here. 115-112 is a very fair reflection of the fight in my opinion

[IamInuit]

I really enjoyed it.A fight that turned into a boxing match. The idea is to hit and not get hit and Rigo showed the template of how that is done and against the man hailed to be the cream of the crop. Rigo is not getting nearly enough credit. Instead some are concentrating on what Donaire didn't do and forgetting the reasons he could not do what was expected. Rigo is the reason.The right guy won but I cannot fathom how those two judges had it 114/113 and 115/112. They should both have their licenses revoked.Then there was lapdog making excuses for Donaire almost from the opening bell. He had a poor training camp, went for his first real run the morning of the fight, had a new baby on the way and the kicker for me that most of his training was done by phone. To use these excuses at this level of the sport is preposterous. Perhaps Donaire should take up another line of work. Oh yeah and the 3 year shoulder injury post fight added excuse was laughable and pathetic at the same time. He got shit kicked plain and simple.Lapdogs closing statements essentially claiming he'd like to see a rematch with a 100% Donaire but Rigo would have to go to 126 was classless. It suggests again that this was not the real deal. Cant people just give credit where credit is due. Donaire got outworked, out boxed, out punched, out sped, out pointed out flashed and out ring general shipped. Other then those minor details, he won the fight.

Are you mad? - means he gave donaire 4 rounds. You could easily give Donaire 3 of the first 9 and 10-8 round 10. I had it 116-115 but scoring 4 even rounds is frowned upon here. 115-112 is a very fair reflection of the fight in my opinion

No quite sane and I just watched the fight again and its generous to give Donaire 2 rounds. He got a lesson. This fight was not even close.