Comprehensive win

The much anticipated super fight between two two-time Olympic Gold medalist, Vasiliy "Hi-Tech" Lomachenko and Guillermo "El Chacal" Rigondeaux ended in anti-climatical fashion as Rigondeaux quit on his stool at the end of the sixth round.

Rigondeaux who usually campaigns at super bantamweight (122 lbs) was stepping up two weight classes to fight for Lomachenko’s Super Featherweight (130lb) belt.

However Lomachenko comprehensively defeated Rigondeaux, dominating him in all area to strengthen his claim as one of the pound-for-pound best.

Hail Mary

Coming into this fight, most people I spoke to saw this the same way; both excellent fighters in their own weight divisions however Rigondeux was too small and too old to step up in weight and compete effectively against Lomachenko.

To me, this fight was a ‘hail mary’ play by Rigondeux. Highly regarded in boxing circles, Rigo’s defensive style and low output as meant he has struggled to capture the public’s imagination. A win against Lomachenko; widely touted as the most talent man in boxing, had to the potential to catapult the Cuban superstardom.

However from the start of the contest it was clear that Lomachenko was a nightmare match-up for Rigo.

All the advantages a smaller man may have over a bigger man; hand speed, agility, foot movement, elusiveness do not apply when you’re fighting Lomachenko. Rigondeux defensive mastery was ineffective against Lomachenko who was peppering him with punches, almost at will.

The frustration of getting hit without landing any meaningful replies was getting the best of Rigondeux as he resorted to dirty tactics (low blows and holding) in a desperate attempt to make a dent into Lomachenko. Rigondeux had a point deducted in the sixth and refused to come out for the start of the seventh. Lomachenko was declared the winner.

Did Rigo quit?

The announcer declared that Rigondeux could not continue due to a hand injury however the common consensus was that he quit on his stool.

I think a good way to assess whether Rigondeux quit or whether is to ask, if he were in his opponent’s (Lomachenko) position (dominating the fight) and his hand was injured, would he have carried on? I think the answer is yes. He quit.

I’m not one for getting het up about boxers quitting. Rather I give credit to the fighter that forces his opponent to quit. This is the fourth time in a row that Lomachenko has made his challenger quit. Lomachenko is obviously doing something right. He is mentally breaking fighters. One of the telling parts of round six for me was that it was half way through the fight, Rigo was running out of idea however it looked like Lomachenko was just getting ready to turn up the heat. In one of the exchanges towards the end of the sixth, he came forward pressuring Rigo, looking as fresh as a daisy, as if to say ‘Oh it’s on now.’ I’m sure whatever pain an exhausted Rigo felt in his hand, magnified ten-fold.

Famous "quitters"

Rigondeux will not be the first acclaimed fighter to quit in a fight and he won’t be the last.

Sonny Liston quit on his stool citing a shoulder injury, also at the end of the sixth against a young brash, fleet-footed Muhammad Ali. Ali would go on to beat Liston even more convincingly in the rematch.

And no-one will forget the moment Roberto Duran quit mid-round saying ‘no mas’ to Sugar Ray Leonard in their rematch. After having beat Ray Leonard in their first clash, 'Sugar Ray' boxed the brakes off the Panamanian in their second fight.

Some of the toughest men in the sport have ‘quit’ in the ring. Boxing is the sport of hit and not being hit. When a fighter is succeeding in doing this against you at the highest level, I can only imagine how mentally debilitating that must be. Yes you can “go out on your shield”, and take your shellacking “like a good warrior”. However that is hard to accept against a fighter you believe in your heart you are better than.

The one thing Liston, Duran and Rigo had in common is that they truly believed they were superior to the guy that was humiliating them and ultimately forced them to quit. Within the space of a few minutes; Ali, Ray Leonard and Lomachenko respectively had forced them to reconsider their whole world view.

What next for Rigo?

I hope Rigondeux made the money he wanted from this fight and considers calling it quits. He doesn’t strike me as a fighter that loves the sport. It is undoubtedly what he does best and he is an elite competitor however it’s hard to see where he goes from here.

If he does continue, at 37, he should really only be looking for big money fights. There are a few british fighters at Featherweight that maybe could offer him that (e.g. Carl Frampton or Lee Selby) however with his awkward style and after the loss to Lomachenko, Rigondeux falls firmly into the “who needs him” camp. I’m all for fighters bowing out with their faculties intact and their bank balance healthy. I hope Rigondeux has done that.

What next for Lomachenko

Lomachenko is definitely one of the most skilled boxers. However for Lomachenko to rank amongst the all time great he has to challenge himself and go up in weight. The acid test for his style of fighting is how effective is it against bigger challengers.

The precedent has already been set for being able to claim greatness at the lighter weights. Floyd Mayweather stepped up from Super Featherweight to win titles at five different weight classes. People like Roy Jones went for Middleweight to Heavyweight winning World titles on the way.

If he stays at super bantamweight a clash with unbeaten Gervonta Davis would be a mouth-watering prospect. However Lomachenko has a series of serious challenges ahead of him should he chose to step up in weight. At Lightweight there is Mikey Garcia. At Junior Welterweight there is Terrence Crawford. At Welterweight there is Keith Thurman and Errol Spence.

Is Lomachenko the P4P king?

For me it is premature to crown Lomachenko the Pound-for-Pound Number 1 fighter in the world. There is no doubt he fights like a man out of a video game. However he has only had 11 professional fights and the biggest name on his record is Rigo, a 37 year old fighting two weight classes up.

However if Lomachenko is able to conquer the likes of Mikey Garcia and Terrence Crawford, we could be looking at a very special fighter indeed.