For all intents and purposes, Guillermo Rigondeaux’s pro boxing career might be over.
After losing via close decision to our very own Vincent Astrolabio last month, Rigo figured in a freak pressure cooker accident that had him losing 80 percent of his vision.
STYLE. For a fighter who puts a premium on defense at the expense of his offense, losing one’s vision is, unfortunately, a step closer to eventual retirement.
You see, Rigo doesn’t actually fight. He pretends to, but actually spends the rest of the night preventing an actual fight from taking place. It’s frustrating for most of his opponents and his style is so egregiously difficult to overcome that they usually end up at the short end of a bargain, a point or two short, after an ugly unwatchable fight.
Take the case of John Riel Casimero, who got a split draw verdict after unsuccessfully bringing the fight to Rigo. Casimero was wild at times and not particularly effective, but it was Rigo’s style that made it so.
In Astrolabio’s case, he found success by limiting his forays and focusing on throwing straight punches. It wasn’t exciting either but proved to be effective as he scored a knockdown against the very elusive Rigo.
Apparently if you keep unnecessary movements to a minimum and keep busy punching, Rigo won’t be able to wow the judges by making his opponent look bad.
The Rigo puzzle isn’t actually that hard to solve. The great Vasily Lomachenko solved the boxing Wordle with flying colors, stopping Rigo while dominating him inside six rounds.
It’s quite unfortunate that at age 41 this kind of accident had to happen to Rigo. If he is able to recover his sight, it might take a significant amount of time away from the ring.
Even if he recovers, it remains to be seen how effective he can still be. And by that time, his name as one of the top caliber fighters in his division would have been stricken off due to inactivity.
It doesn’t help his cause that he lost his last fight and his style isn’t exactly one that makes fans beeline for seats to the stadium.
VERBATIM. “It pains me to see him box because I know how hard it is,” said Presidential aspirant Manny Pacquiao as Manny Pacquiao Jr. wins his boxing debut (www.mirror.co.uk).
LAST ROUND. It’s on my best buddy, Edgar “Edge” Genosa who recently celebrated his birthday. Cheers!