Nonito Donaire (31-2-0, 20 KO) was given a boxing lesson Saturday night by undefeated Guillermo Rigondeaux (12-0-0, 8 KO) at Radio City Music Hall, before a restless, booing crowd of 6,145 people. Rigondeaux counter punched and danced his way to a unanimous decision over the Filipino Flash.
Rigondeaux, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, proclaimed himself a Hall-of-Famer at 12-0 following the fight, and explained the booing crowd by saying, "I was the matador and he was the bull. They don't like seeing the matador."
Rigondeaux's trainer Pedro Diaz, who has trained former welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, agreed with his fighter's assessment. "We fought the Cuban boxing way: Hit and don't get hit. We made Donaire look very bad."
Indeed, Donaire did look bad in getting outboxed by Rigondeaux. Donaire appeared slow and was unable to land anything of note until the tenth round, when he scored a flash knockdown of Rigondeaux that drew cheers from the crowd and reminded all viewers of the prodigious power that makes him such an attraction.
Donaire was the definite aggressor all night, but he was stymied by Rigondeaux's near-perfect defense. Donaire revealed during the post-fight interview that he has also been battling a shoulder injury that will require surgery. Coupled with the impending birth of his first child, Donaire is likely going to be out of action until the fall at the earliest.
Donaire blamed himself for allowing Rigondeaux to control the tempo of the fight. "It was my mistake for not changing up during the fight," Donaire said. "I didn't do my job. I didn't use my jab and go to the left. I have no excuse. He beat me tonight. It was close. I gave it all I got."
Despite the huge victory, Rigondeaux's promoter Bob Arum still envisions the new super bantamweight titlist to be a tough fighter to promote, owing to his defense-first style.
"I'm 81 years old and I'm probably going to have to do the best promoting job I've ever done," Arum said. "When Rigondeaux stands and fights, the [expletive] has a lot of power and a lot of skill, but running the way he does really makes it not a watchable fight."
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