Donaire bored by Carson dance
By Joaquin Henson
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 19 Aug 2021
LAS VEGAS. WBC bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire, Jr. thought of driving with wife Rachel to Carson City to witness the fight between WBO titlist JohnRiel Casimero and challenger Guillermo Rigondeaux at the Dignity Health Sports Park last Saturday but decided to catch it on TV in the end.
“We were going to go,” said Rachel. “But it’s been a busy week with Jun training, our two boys going to school then picking them up. So we stayed home. It was a boring fight. They just went round and round. Both guys were ineffective in executing their gameplan. Imagine Casimero landed only 47 punches and Rigo, 44 the entire 12 rounds so that’s an average of less than five a round. In boxing, you let your two hands go. It’s not MMA where you can take down an opponent to the ground and force a submission. Actually, it was difficult to watch because of the amount of punches landed. I think it should’ve been a draw. Casimero pressed the action but couldn’t catch Rigo while Rigo frustrated Casimero.”
Donaire said he snored a little while struggling to stay awake in front of the TV as fans in the venue booed Rigondeaux for refusing to mix it up and dancing out of Casimero’s strike zone. Rachel said they’ll sit down with Ringstar Sports CEO Richard Schaefer this week to discuss four or five options on what to do next. Rachel declined to disclose what’s on the table at the moment. Surely, a rematch with IBF/WBA bantamweight “super” champion Naoya Inoue will be considered and there’s talk it may be held in Japan late this year. Is a Casimero duel in the works? Donaire wouldn’t comment.
After repulsing Rigondeaux by a split decision, Casimero said he has two opponents left in his bucket list. “Rigo is finito,” said Casimero. “Next is Donaire then Inoue. I think they’re both scared of me like Rigo who just kept running, no punching.” Donaire laughed off Casimero’s taunt. “Am I scared?” said Donaire. “I’ve fought 21 world champions in my career. There’s no way I’m scared of anyone.”
Donaire said he watched highlights of the Philippine boxing team’s exploits in the recent Tokyo Olympics. “I was particularly interested in Eumir Marcial’s fight against Arman Darchinyan,” said Donaire. “I fought Darchinyan’s uncle Vic twice and knocked him out. Marcial was impressive in taking out Darchinyan. I thought the Filipino boxers were tremendous. Their courage, effort and performance were commendable. In the past Olympics, we had difficulty getting even one medal but this time, we brought home four, three from boxing. Just watching them fight, you could sense their high level of confidence in performing on the big stage. We’re all very proud of our Filipino fighters.”
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Joaquin Henson.
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