SPORTS SHORTS 197: JOHN RIEL CASIMERO TRIUMPHS OVER GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX WHO THRIVES ON "HIT AND RUN" BOXING IN A HISTORIC BORING FIGHT
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 16 Aug 2021
John Riel Casimero (31-4, 21 KOs) retained his WBO world bantamweight title defeating Guillermo Rigondeaux (20-2, 13 KOs) by split decision at the Dignity Health Sports Park in California on Saturday, August 14 (Sunday, August 15, Philippine time).
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Robert Hoyle of Las Vegas scored it 117-111 and Daniel Sandoval of California had it 116-112 for Casimero while Tim Cheatham of Nevada saw it 113-115 for Rigondeaux.
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The fight made history according to CompuBox. Their combined 91 punches landed is the lowest total for a 12-round fight in their 36-year history.
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Compubox twitted: "Not much to see here, as they combined to land just 91 punches, the lowest total for a 12-round fight in CompuBox's 36-year history. Casimero was awarded the decision due to his aggressiveness."
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“I wanted a knockout and all my fans wanted a knockout, but Rigondeaux is always running,” Casimero said. “He’s always running! No fighting!”
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The combative Casimero won his last six fights by knockout and unleashed 297 punches in the fight but landed only 47 for a 16% connection rate, according to CompuBox. He hit just six of 130 jabs, and 41 of 167 power punches.
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Rigondeaux threw 124 jabs and landed 16 and connected 28 of only 97 power punches attempted. In the first round of the fight, Rigondeaux landed just one punch to Casimero's six and none of both fighters landed more than seven punches in any of the twelve rounds.
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Casimero said after defeating Rigondeaux, he wants to fight WBC bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire next and then WBA and IBF bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue for the undisputed title showdown.
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Rigondeaux thought it likely that he deserved the victory, and when told he only landed 44 punches in the fight, the Cuban answered, “That’s the necessary amount of punches I needed to win this fight.”
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Previous record of the lowest total punches connected in a 12 round fight was 100 combined landed punches in Mario Barrios of San Antonio, Texas vs. Devis Boschiero of Chioggia, Italy on July 9, 2016 at the Sun National Bank Center, Trenton, New Jersey, USA. All three judges scored a 120-107 shutout for Barrios.
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Johnriel Casimero may not have fulfilled his promise of a knockout, but he still retained his World Boxing Organization bantamweight belt. The back pedaling Rigondeaux was simply too elusive to hit.
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The most exciting round plausibly was the opening canto, when Casimero sent Rigondeaux to his knees with a flurry of head blows. However, the referee ruled it a slip and not a knockdown.
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Casimero delivered left hooks to Rigondeaux’s head, and the Cuban was hurt and went down. After that instant when Rigondeaux was hit by Casimero’s firepower that's the time he decided to move a lot using "hit and run".
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The rest of the 11 rounds saw Rigondeaux moving left and right and from time to time sneaking a counter left hand. Casimero was fighting at a slow pace and had difficulty connecting him, and that makes the fight monotonous.
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Boos were heard in most rounds of the fight. But they did not stop Rigondeaux from doing his routine. Casimero seemed tired by Rigondeaux’s motion and missed some of his shots. Rigondeaux won some rounds and landed some punches though these were powerless.
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At age 40, Rigondeaux still has a good footwork which he used to escape from Casimero's arsenal but he seldom used his hands and more his feet. It resulted to one of the most unsightly fights in boxing history.
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Rigondeaux suffered only the second defeat of his career. Casimero now set his target on a unification against either Donaire or Inoue. The Ormoc City pride was originally agreed to fight Donaire in an all-Filipino title fight, but it did not materialize after an online sputter and dispute over drug testing.
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"Rigondeaux is finished. Second is Donaire. Next is Inoue," Casimero said while showing his fingers as if counting .
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"I was expecting a guy ready to blow my chin away and sent me to retirement. But I am not a picture on a bag," Rigondeaux wrote on Twitter.
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Rigondeaux commented that Casimero was less impressive than Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao.
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"Congratulations to the Filipino fans. You have a great champion, his name is Pacquiao," Rigondeaux posted on Twitter.
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Rigondeaux just followed the blueprint that defined his career which is "hit and not be hit", punch accurately and move quickly. When he fought Ricardo Cordoba, the Panamanian boxer landed only 15% of his punches, according to CompuBox.
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The Rigondeaux-Cordoba fight took place on the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito undercard before 40,154 spectators at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas on November 13, 2010.
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Rico Ramos of the United States landed only 15 punches out of 114 thrown in five-plus rounds, according to CompuBox, which is attributed to Rigondeaux’s running skills on January 20, 2012 at Palms Casino & Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Joseph Agbeko of Ghana threw only 29 punches per round, according to CompuBox on December 7, 2013 at Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey.
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WBO and The Ring champion Nonito Donaire battled WBA (Super) champion Guillermo Rigondeaux at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 13, 2013. Donaire connected 82 of 352 total punches compared to Rigondeaux's 129 of 396.
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The biggest move the Los Angeles Lakers made in the off-season was getting Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and the 22nd pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
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Kendrick Nunn signed a two-year, $10 million deal. Malik Monk, Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard, Kent Bazemore, Wayne Ellington were all signed veteran minimum deals.
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LeBron James is the longest-serving Laker and he has only been playing with the team for three seasons. James, Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol and Talen Horton-Tucker are the only players from the 2020-21 team that are returning this season.
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Carlos Yulo won the bronze and gold at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. He is the first Filipino and the first male Southeast Asian gymnast to win in the world championships with his floor exercise bronze medal in 2018, and the first ever gold medal for the Philippines in 2019 on the same event.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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