Cuban boxer Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz better known as Rigondeaux defeats 'The Filipino Flash' Nonito Donaire via a unanimous 12-round decision on a world super-bantamweight championship Saturday night, April 13 at Radio City Music Hall, New York City.
Judge Julie Lederman scored it 116-111, Tom Schreck 115-112 and John Stewart 114-113 in favor of Rigondeaux.
Donaire (31-2, 20 KOs) has not lost a fight for 12 years. The 30-year-old boxer was voted Fighter of the Year in 2012 by ESPN.
Donaire, with a badly swollen right eye that he covered with his glove in the last round, said afterwards, "I want to apologize. The last two rounds I got stupid. I got carried way."
Donaire has a ligament damage in his shoulder that needed surgery but said he would meet Rigondeaux again when he was healed. He and his wife Rachel also have a baby due very soon, and Donaire said that has been a distraction for him.
Rigondeaux (12-0, 8 KOs) won Olympic gold medals for Cuba at the Sydney Games in 2000 and in the Athens Games in 2004. The 32-year-old super-bantamweight defected in 2007 and did not turn pro until he was nearly 29 years old.
Rigondeaux is a seven-time (2000–2006) Cuban national champion at bantamweight, and currently claims an amateur record of nearly 400 fights with twelve losses.
Widely considered to be one of the greatest amateur fighters of all time, Rigondeaux has been lauded by boxing trainer Freddie Roach as being "Probably the greatest talent I've ever seen".
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| Photo: Nonito Donaire vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux Photo Credit: www.fighnews.com |
Judge Julie Lederman scored it 116-111, Tom Schreck 115-112 and John Stewart 114-113 in favor of Rigondeaux.
Donaire (31-2, 20 KOs) has not lost a fight for 12 years. The 30-year-old boxer was voted Fighter of the Year in 2012 by ESPN.
Donaire, with a badly swollen right eye that he covered with his glove in the last round, said afterwards, "I want to apologize. The last two rounds I got stupid. I got carried way."
Donaire has a ligament damage in his shoulder that needed surgery but said he would meet Rigondeaux again when he was healed. He and his wife Rachel also have a baby due very soon, and Donaire said that has been a distraction for him.
Rigondeaux (12-0, 8 KOs) won Olympic gold medals for Cuba at the Sydney Games in 2000 and in the Athens Games in 2004. The 32-year-old super-bantamweight defected in 2007 and did not turn pro until he was nearly 29 years old.
Rigondeaux is a seven-time (2000–2006) Cuban national champion at bantamweight, and currently claims an amateur record of nearly 400 fights with twelve losses.
Widely considered to be one of the greatest amateur fighters of all time, Rigondeaux has been lauded by boxing trainer Freddie Roach as being "Probably the greatest talent I've ever seen".
