Guillermo Rigondeaux Tops A Stellar ShoBox

by Gautham Nagesh

Cuban junior featherweight Guillermo Rigondeaux schooled the previously unbeaten Rico Ramos Friday night at the Palms in Las Vegas to earn a “world” title in just his ninth professional fight.

The Cuban’s amateur career is the stuff of legend, with only his attempt at defection standing between him and a third Olympic gold medal in 2008. Since turning professional in 2009, he has risen rapidly through a weak 122-lb division to establish himself as the kingpin. At age 31, Rigondeaux has no time to waste before seeking the best.

Against Ramos, he simply overwhelmed the younger man from the opening bell to earn the stoppage in the 6th round. A slick and scientific southpaw, Rigondeaux jabs mostly to find range and uses the straight left judiciously. A wide shot to the temple hurt Ramos in the first and the effect put Rico on the floor a few seconds later for a knockdown. Ramos capitulated after a series of lefts in the sixth, punctuated by a body shot.

Immediately after the final bell, Rigondeaux called out the Filipino Flash Nonito Donaire, considered by many to be the premier little man on the planet. Donaire is set to move up to junior featherweight and would still be considered a pound-for-pound threat thanks to his combination of speed and power. But Rigondeaux is one of the few fighters in the world slick enough to take advantage of Donaire’s technical flaws.

Rigondeaux has his flaws, namely that he’s still not busy enough or effective with the jab. But none of the other fighters at 122 lbs. would likely have the goods to cause him much trouble. Ramos just didn’t seem up to the fight, whereas the Cuban looked like he was born in the ring. I previously underestimated his athletic gifts and power but now realize he has the tools to pose problems for Donaire.

An excellent trio of fights on ShoBox saw two seventh-round stoppages on the undercard. Super flyweight Matt Villanueva battered Michael Ruiz Jr., flashing heavy hands and maintaining an excellent work rate. Ruiz was down in the second and never had the power to deter the slim but powerful Villanueva. Matt is tall for 115 lbs. and throws in combinations. He hurt his opponent consistently when landing flush punches from either hand. Ruiz takes his second loss while Villanueva notches his seventh win, all by knockout.

19-year-old Jose Diaz Jr. of the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles won a terrific scrap against Guy Robb in the other TV fight, aided by what looked like a very premature stoppage from referee Vic Drakulich. In his defense, the game Robb didn’t visibly protest after expending everything he had over the previous seven rounds. Robb scored an unexpected knockdown with a right hand in close in the second, and looked in command at several moments during the fight.

But the teenaged Diaz looks like a born fighter; he never stopped coming through the bout. Diaz has more obvious gifts and his fighting spirit cannot be questioned after such a courageous showing. He put Robb down twice in the third after getting off the mat himself, an early indication of his resilience. It’s not hard to see why he’s been turning heads at the Wild Card Gym.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention some of the more hilarious moments from this second edition of ShoBox in the new year, also one of the first productions of the post-Ken Hershman era at Showtime. Early on, announcer Steve Farhood’s microphone didn’t work. Then, new ringside scorer Chuck Giampa suffered through what is destined to be one of the classic gaffes in sports broadcasting when he froze during his initial appearance on camera. Click here to watch it, if you haven’t already.

But we’re hardly perfect here ourselves, so I’ll give the new guys at Showtime the benefit of the doubt as they iron out the kinks. Guest ringside announcer Andre Ward was insightful at times but he could use some vocal coaching or a louder volume setting on his mic. Giampa is there to be Showtime’s Harold Lederman but the early returns are not promising. Here’s hoping they cut their losses early and spare Chuck any further embarrassment.