nonito donaire – Page 10 – Syndication Server

Guillermo Rigondeaux at 39: ‘The Jackal is not finished’

Guillermo Rigondeaux says he will climb back onto pound-for-pounds lists at 118 pounds and then move back up to 122.

If anyone has a right to think big, it’s Guillermo Rigondeaux.

The 39-year-old Cuban defector is a two-time Olympic champion, former unified 122-pound titleholder and a longtime member of the pound-for-pound club, a distinction that ended when he moved up to 130 pounds to face Vasiliy Lomachenko and was knocked out in 2017.

At that point, many believed the aging boxing wizard was more or less finished as an elite fighter. Wellllllllll …

Rigondeaux (20-1, 13 KOs) has won three consecutive fights since his setback, two at a more natural 122 pounds and one – a decision over Liborio Solis – at 118 on Feb. 8, his most recent fight.

And he says he’s just getting started even as he approaches 40. He told El Nuevo Herald that he plans to climb back onto pound-for-pound lists at 118 pounds and then move back up to 122.

Rigondeaux won what the WBC calls its “regular” title when he beat Solis. Boxing Junkie doesn’t recognize that belt.

“I was the pound-for-pound champion at 122,” he said. “I’m going to be the best, pound-for-pound in the 118-pound division and then I’m going to go up again for 122. So you know, I’m not done yet. It’s now that I start.’

“… “We’re not done, now we start. The Jackal is not finished, now it starts. I’m still a champion at 118. I’m here. I keep making history. I’m a three-time world champion: two at 122 and one at 118.”

What’s next?

Japanese star Naoya Inoue is the actual WBA 118-pound titleholder and holds another belt. However, he was set to face fellow beltholder John Riel Casimero in a unification bout when the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

The fourth titleholder is Nordine Oubaali but he’s expected to defend against No. 1 contender Nonito Donaire.

That leaves Rigondeaux’s immediate future uncertain, although it sounds as if he’ll be ready to go when the phone rings.

Naoya Inoue still committed to unification bout with John Riel Casimero

Bantamweight champ Naoya Inoue is staying in shape and still expects to face John Riel Casimero in a title unification bout.

Naoya Inoue expected to be in Las Vegas preparing for a fight against John Riel Casimero when he turned 27 on April 10. Instead, with the fight off, he is with his family in Japan waiting out the coronavirus pandemic.

Such is life for boxers these days.

Inoue, speaking with BoxingScene.com, said he still intends to face Casimero in a title-unification bout when that’s possible. In the meantime, he’s doing what he can to stay in reasonable condition.

“I was going to have my 27-year-old birthday in Las Vegas doing physical preparations for my fight against John Riel Casimero,” Inoue told BoxingScene.com. “But because of what is happening today with the danger in this world, due to a coronavirus pandemic, I am now in Japan … surrounded by my family in peace and tranquility.

“My fight in Las Vegas was suspended because of coronavirus. I am still training at 60% intensity so I don’t to lose my physical form for whatever comes.”

Inoue (19-0, 16 KOs) hopes he won’t have to travel far when the time comes to fight.

“Presumably my fight with John Riel Casimero would be possible to take place in Japan, provided that Japan is the safest location and a more reliable country than the U.S., as long as COVID-19 ends in Japan faster than the U.S.,” he said.

“Eight calendar years have passed since my professional boxing debut. I was able to consummate greater and more glorious achievements than I imagined by making the leap to being a professional, but, I can tell you, my holy ambition as a boxer is still half-finished.

“Now, my project is to continue my triumphant march, but it is momentarily interrupted by COVID-19. In spite of [that] I harbor an immense feeling of desire and improvement so that I am capable of throwing myself strongly into an important fight to fulfill my great goal in boxing.”

Inoue is coming off a tougher-than-expected unanimous decision over Nonito Donaire in November, which was one of the most entertaining fights of 2019.

Casimero (29-4, 20 KOs) became a 118-pound titleholder in his most recent fight, a third-round knockout of Zolani Tete in November.

Video: DAZN’s Top 10 rounds of 2019

DAZN presents the best 10 rounds seen on the sports streaming service in 2019.

2019 was packed with great fights and rounds. And many of them were seen on DAZN.

That included the unforgettable Round 3 of the first fight between then-heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr. last June at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Ruiz went down once, Joshua twice in the round that turned the fight in Ruiz’s favor. He would go on to stop Joshua in Round 7, shocking the world.

DAZN’s digital folks put together this video of highlights of the best rounds that were seen on the sports streaming service last year.

Which one was your favorite? Enjoy.

[jwplayer gTIzCE2i]

Degrees of Separation: Linking Japanese greats Fighting Harada to Naoya Inoue

Six degrees of separation is a theory that everyone in the world is separated by no more than six social connections. In other words, you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows Queen Elizabeth. …

Six degrees of separation is a theory that everyone in the world is separated by no more than six social connections.

In other words, you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows Queen Elizabeth. Or so the concept goes.

We’re borrowing the six degrees concept – well, sort of loosely – to connect fighters from the past to their more contemporary counterparts in our new occasional feature, “Degrees of Separation.”

Example: Let’s connect Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Super easy; we did it in two steps. Senior fought Grover Wiley, who fought Junior.

In this installment of the Boxing Junkie feature, we connect Hall of Famer “Fighting” Harada, who is generally recognized as the greatest Japanese fighter of all time, to countryman Naoya Inoue, the best from Japan today.

It took us more steps than we would’ve liked, 12, but we got there. Harada last fought 50 years ago.

Check it out:

Fighting Harada fought …

Lionel Rose, who fought …

Rafael Limon, who fought …

Hector Camacho, who fought …

Oscar De La Hoya, who fought …

Manny Pacquiao, who fought …

Adrien Broner, who fought …

Antonio DeMarco, who fought …

Jorge Linares, who fought …

Vassiliy Lomachenko, who fought …

Guillermo Rigondeaux, who fought …

Nonito Donaire, who fought …

Naoya Inoue

Could you do it in fewer steps? Let us know via Twitter or Facebook. Or you can contact me on Twitter. And please follow us!

Degrees of separation: Connecting John L. Sullivan to Deontay Wilder

Naoya Inoue: ‘I’ve completely recovered from unexpected injury’

Naoya Inoue confirmed Friday at a news conference that he’s healthy and will fight John Riel Casimero on April 25.

Naoya Inoue has a new contract, a new destination and a healed right eye.

Time to go back to work for the bantamweight champion, who hopes to enhance his pound-for-pound credentials and further his stardom in Las Vegas against Filipino John Riel Casimero on April 25 at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay on ESPN.

Inoue, who confirmed Friday at a news conference in Tokyo that he will fight Casimero, said he has recovered from injuries sustained in his Fight of the Year decision over Nonito Donaire for two of the 118-pound belts on Nov. 7 in Saitama, Japan.

Inoue’s right orbital bone was fractured. He also suffered a cut above the right eye and a broken nose. The injuries have healed, said Inoue (19-0, 16 KOs), who also said he did not need surgery.

“I have already started sparring, and I’ve no problem in my right eye,” Inoue said through a translator. “I’ve completely recovered from the unexpected injury.’’

Inoue, who signed a co-promotional deal with Top Rank in November, said he plans to arrive in Las Vegas three weeks before his bout with Casimero (29-4, 20 KOs), a Manny Pacquiao-promoted fighter who has one of the bantamweight belts.

“He is an aggressive and hard-punching boxer who is dangerous and wild enough,” said Inoue, who will be making his fourth title defense at 118 pounds. “I wish to carefully watch his strategy and strength as well.”

Inoue, No. 4 on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list, appeared at the news conference with his father, Shingo Inoue, and co-promoter Hideyuki Ohashi.

“I’m happy to be able to engage in a unification bout with Casimero with our three world belts on the line,” said Inoue, who also held junior flyweight and junior bantamweight titles. “This will be the first for a Japanese boxer to win three world belts if victorious.’’

Nonito Donaire to take on Nordine Oubaali for bantamweight title

Nonito Donaire will have another opportunity to win a world title against Nordine Oubaali in a fight to take place later this year.

Nonito Donaire will soon have another shot at a bantamweight title.

The Filipino veteran, coming off his Fight of the Year effort against 118-pound titleholder Naoya Inoue in November, is set to challenge Nordine Oubaali for the Frenchman’s WBC belt.

The fight was consummated earlier this week after TGB Promotions was the only promoter to turn in a bid ($401,000) for the bout. The fight will most likely take place on a Premier Boxing Champions card as TGB promotes the majority of PBC cards. The date and venue have not yet been determined.

Donaire (40-6, 26 KOs) lost a unanimous decision to Inoue but was lauded for his spirited performance. Donaire was expected to get blown out; instead, he tested Inoue throughout the fight, opening up a cut early on and breaking the Japanese dynamo’s nose and orbital bone.

Oubaali (17-0, 12 KOs) defeated Rau’shee Warren by a unanimous decision to win the then-vacant title in January of last year. He followed that with successful defenses against Arthur Villanueva and Takuma Inoue.

The WBC designated Donaire as Oubaali’s mandatory after Luis Nery failed to make weight for his fight against Emmanuel Dominguez on Nov. 23.

Naoya Inoue to fight Johnriel Casimero on April 25 in Las Vegas

Naoya Inoue will fight fellow 118-pound beltholder Johnriel Casimero on April 25 in Las Vegas, according to BoxingScene.com.

Naoya Inoue’s debut with Top Rank isn’t going to be a mere showcase.

The Japanese sensation will fight fellow 118-pound beltholder Johnriel Casimero of the Philippines on April 25 in Las Vegas, according to BoxingScene.com.

Neither the site nor the viewing platform have been determined, the website reported. ESPN apparently is the likely platform but the fight could still be streamed on ESPN+.

Inoue (19-0, 16 KOs) is coming off his fight-of-the-year battle with Nonito Donaire in the championship match of the World Boxing Super Series on Nov. 7. Inoue suffered fractures in his orbital bone and nose, as well as a cut, yet outpointed the resilient veteran.

“The Monster,” as Inoue’s is called, signed a multiyear co-promotional deal with Top Rank shortly after his victory over Donaire.

Casimero (29-4, 20 KOs) became a titleholder in a third division when he upset Zolani Tete by a third-round TKO on Nov. 30 in Birmingham, England.

Floyd Mayweather BWAA Fighter of Decade, Canelo Fighter of Year

Floyd Mayweather has been named Fighter of the Decade by the Boxing Writers Association of America, which also named Canelo Alvarez Fighter of the Year for 2019. Mayweather beat out Alvarez, Manny Pacquiao, Wladimir Klitschko and Andre Ward for his …

Floyd Mayweather has been named Fighter of the Decade by the Boxing Writers Association of America, which also named Canelo Alvarez Fighter of the Year for 2019.

Mayweather beat out Alvarez, Manny Pacquiao, Wladimir Klitschko and Andre Ward for his award.

“Money” went 10-0 (2 KOs) in the decade and beat two of the Fighter of the Decade candidations, Alvarez and Pacquiao. Among his other victims were Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto and Marcos Maidana (twice). Mosley has been elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame and Alvarez, Pacquiao and Cotto will join him one day.

Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) last fought in 2017, when he came out of retirement to stop MMA star Conor McGregor that August in Las Vegas.

“Thank you to the Boxing Writers Association of America for voting me Fighter of the Decade,” Mayweather said in a statement. “I am honored to be recognized by the media who covered my career throughout its’ many
decades.

“Boxing has been a part of my life since I was two years old and I dedicated my life to it and gave it my all. I trained hard, showed up for every one of my fights and did my job successfully each and every time. To retire undefeated and achieve what I did in the sport is not only a gift to myself, but to the fans and most importantly, my team and family. I certainly didn’t do it alone and I appreciate anyone who played a part in it.

“Hard work and dedication, something I did for my entire career. I am grateful and humbled by this honor. Thank you so very much.”

Alvarez, arguably the biggest star in the sport today, had his most successful year in 2019.

He unified two middleweight title by defeating highly respected Daniel Jacobs by a unanimous decision on May 4 in Las Vegas. He then went up two weight classes and stopped hard-punching Sergey Kovalev in 11 rounds on Nov. 2 in Las Vegas.

Alvarez, who received 81 percent of the votes, beat out Naoya Inoue, Pacquiao, Errol Spence Jr. and Josh Taylor to become the first Mexican to win the award since Julio Cesar Chavez in 1987.

Also, Alvarez’s trainer, Eddy Reynoso, was named Trainer of the Year.

“This is a great honor and privilege, and something that I’m very proud to accomplish,” Canelo said. “It’s something I’ve waited for a while to achieve. I’m so happy to be a part of history as the second Mexican to win this.

“I’m overwhelmed with the news that Eddy received Trainer of the Year. I’ve worked with Eddy since I was at a young age. All of the hard work and sacrifices got us to this point. I’m happy that we’ve accomplished this together.”

The other Trainer of the Year candidates were Jay Deas/Mark Breland, Derrick James, Brian McIntyre and Manny Robles.

“I don’t have the words to express what this means to me,” Reynoso said. “We’re going to continue working hard to get this award for a few more years in the future, God willing.”

The winners of other awards were: Female Fighter of the Year, Katie Taylor (announced in December); Fight of the Year, Naoya Inoue vs. Nonito Donaire; Manager of the Year, Keith Connolly; Excellence in Broadcast
Journalism, Ward; Long and Meritorious Service, Bob Canobbio; Good Guy Award (tie), Boxing Junkie writer Norm Frauenheim and Tim Smith; Courage Award (tie), Adonis Stevenson and Marc Abrams; Nat Fleischer Award for excellence in boxing journalism, Graham Houston.

The winners will be honored at the annual BWAA awards dinner at a venue and date to be determined later this year. Tickets to the awards dinner will be available to the public and can be purchased at BWAA.org.

Pound-for-pound: Should Deontay Wilder be on the list?

Is it time to give Deontay Wilder pound-for-pound consideration? The short answer is “no.” That’s not a knock on Wilder, who deserves respect for what he has accomplished over the past five years. It simply means that he isn’t among the 15 best …

Is it time to give Deontay Wilder pound-for-pound consideration? The short answer is “no.”

That’s not a knock on Wilder, who deserves respect for what he has accomplished over the past five years. It simply means that he isn’t among the 15 best fighters in the world regardless of weight, which is what pound-for-pound is.

First of all, Wilder isn’t even the top heavyweight. The vast majority of those who saw his draw with Tyson Fury last December thought Fury, who is included in “Honorable Mention” here, deserved the decision even though he went down twice.

Honest observers have to be able to see through poor judging when assessing fighters.

And we have to stick with the definition of pound-for-pound. Consider this question: If Vassily Lomachenko and Terence Crawford were 6-foot-4 and around 220 pounds yet retained their skills and speed, how would they fare against Wilder?

Wilder’s punching power can be the deciding factor against anyone. At the same time, the heavyweight titleholder has never faced boxers with anywhere near the ability of Lomachenko and Crawford. The closest we could come to them in terms of skill set throughout history is Muhammad Ali, who was a once-in-a-century talent.

Deontay Wilder should be admired for his string of knockouts but he’s not a pound-for-pounder yet. Ryan Hafey / Premier Boxing Champions

We imagine that Lomachenko and Crawford would drive Wilder mad with their mobility, their quickness, their overall ability. Luis Ortiz, who Wilder stopped with one punch in the seventh round Saturday in Las Vegas, is a good boxer but he’s light years behind our Nos. 1 and 2 pound-for-pound.

The only fighter better than Ortiz on Wilder’s resume is Fury and we know what happened there. Who else has he beaten? His next toughest opponent might’ve been Bermane Stiverne, who isn’t exactly the type of fight against whom you demonstrate your pound-for-pound credentials.

To be fair to Wilder, we should mention that heavyweights are at a disadvantage against smaller fighters in this discussion. A man 6-foot-7, like Wilder, just can’t be expected to move like a smaller fighter. And smaller fighters can move up in weight in pursuit of more opportunities to prove their mettle.

Wilder understands that.

“When you’re dealing with the pound-for-pound list, I really don’t think it belongs in the heavyweight division,” Wilder said the news conference following the Ortiz fight. “We can only be in one division. We can’t go up and down like all of the smaller fighters, so it doesn’t really apply to us.”

We don’t agree completely. Again, Fury is an “honorable mention” here. And, certainly, Ali, Larry Holmes and perhaps other big men had the unusual ability to crack the pound-for-pound list during their eras.

For now, though, we believe it’s best to appreciate Wilder’s chilling knockouts and refrain from comparing him to the best all-around fighters in other divisions. And we can have this discussion again if he knocks out Fury.

Check out our Top 15 list below. And let us know what you think.

BOXING JUNKIE

POUND-FOR-POUND

Vasiliy Lomachenko
Terence Crawford
Canelo Alvarez
Naoya Inoue
Oleksandr Usyk
Gennadiy Golovkin
Errol Spence
Juan Francisco Estrada
Mikey Garcia
Artur Beterbiev
Josh Taylor
Manny Pacquiao
Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
Leo Santa Cruz
Kosei Tanaka

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Miguel Berchelt, Mairis Briedis, Tyson Fury, Shawn Porter, Julian Williams

Pound-for-pound: Naoya Inoue’s turn as the subject of debate

Naoya Inoue’s performance against Nonito Donaire was gutsy but otherwise just solid, which worked against him in the pound-for-pound debate.

Another week, another pound-for-pound debate.

Two weeks ago, Canelo Alvarez’s stoppage of Sergey Kovalev sparked discussion over whether Alvarez deserves to be No. 1 in the world. This past week, fans and pundits are having the same conversation over Naoya Inoue, who outpointed Nonito Donaire on Thursday in Japan.

Inoue (No. 4 last week) deserves credit for overcoming significant obstacles in the fight, specifically a bad cut that bled much of the fight and Donaire’s size advantage. We later learned that Inoue suffered a fractured orbital bone and a broken nose. He also stood up to everything thrown by Donaire, who is known for his punching power.

All that and a determined opponent was a lot with which to contend yet he won a unanimous decision.

At the same time, Inoue, who had appeared to be superhuman in previous fights, looked mortal in this one. His vaunted punching power largely went missing against the bigger man, aside from a body shot that hurt Donaire badly and put him down. That raises questions about how Inoue would do if he continues to move up in weight.

And the Japanese idol took more hard shots than we were used to seeing, including a few that rocked him. Again, the “Monster” looked like a human being against an opponent who has seen better days.

In the end, Boxing Junkie staffers decided that Inoue shouldn’t supplant any or our Top 3 – No. 1 Vasiliy Lomachenko, No. 2 Terence Crawford and No. 3 Alvarez – based on a gutsy performance that was otherwise no better than solid.

Thus, Inoue remains at No. 4.

Check out our Top 15 list below. And let us know what you think.

BOXING JUNKIE

POUND-FOR-POUND

Vasiliy Lomachenko
Terence Crawford
Canelo Alvarez
Naoya Inoue
Oleksandr Usyk
Gennadiy Golovkin
Errol Spence
Juan Francisco Estrada
Mikey Garcia
Artur Beterbiev
Josh Taylor
Manny Pacquiao
Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
Leo Santa Cruz
Kosei Tanaka

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Miguel Berchelt, Mairis Briedis, Tyson Fury, Shawn Porter, Julian Williams