DONAIRE ? RIGONDEAUX: THE STARE DOWN OF THE YEAR
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 11 Apr 2013
New York - Nonito Donaire and Guillermo Rigondeaux spoke briefly at the dais during the final press conference today held at The Theatre of MSG in Midtown Manhattan.
Either that they are tired of the media frenzy and the rigors of Fight Week or that they have said everything that has to be said three days ahead of their Super Bantamweight showdown on Saturday.
But what was not articulated in the microphone was displayed when the two fighters stood in front of each other for the customary face-off at the end of their short speeches.
And what a stare down that was. There they are, with eyes fixed at each other, no blinking, no trash talking, and no shoving like what you see others do in these kind of posturing. It lasted not seconds, not just a minute, but at least two minutes in my unofficial count. It felt like eternity to most.
They did not stop staring at each other even when Top Rank?s Ricardo Jimenez egged them to face the media and photographers huddled downstairs or even when the photographers begged them to face their way.
Donaire stared down with eyes squinted on his opponent who is a couple of inches shorter than him, as if he was imposing his size and his will on his fellow champion.
But Rigondeaux did not back down. He looked straight at his opponent?s eyes and matched the intensity that his foe was showing him. He crossed his arms when Donaire crossed his and the two just stood there motionless.
And they stood there, mindless of the flashing light bulbs, the commands from their trainers and on the egging of everyone present this afternoon at the event. They stood and stared and waited for the other to give in first.
?I think that his coach was telling him not to look away. The only reason I looked away was because he broke his stare at me and he started looking at my nose and my mouth,? said Donaire who was the first one to break the stare down.
?And then I said, Okay, I?m good, so there was my moral victory. In terms of just being able to face off and he felt my energy. And that is why maybe why he looked away from me because I was starting to get heated,? added the Filipino star.
Three days before the big fight at the big stage of the famed Radio City Music Hall, the mind games between the two champions have already begun.
You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com or follow him on Twitter @Freemazon910.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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