Delineation of Greatness: Lomachenko vs Rigondeaux

Guillermo Rigondeaux may be the most feared man in professional boxing. He owned a startling 463-12 record in amature boxing, winning 2 gold medals, before defecting from Cuba to turn pro. He quickly became the boogeyman of the 122lb division after schooling the #3 pound for pound fighter in the sport. The once thriving division quickly emptied out as fighters were glad to gain weight and fight bigger men just to get away from him. Rigo is rated number 8 lb for lb going into this fight. His last 7 wins include, 2 1st round knockouts, 2 hilariously lopsided decisions and the rest spent time in the hospital with broken jaws and eye sockets. Nobody wanted to fight him. So he took to twitter and called out anyone and everyone.

His call was finally answered. His opponent Vasiliy Lomachenko has much in common with Rigo. He has also won 2 gold medals, also boasts a shocking amature record of 396-1and has been absolutely styling on every opponent placed in front of him since turning pro. His last 3 opponents have either quit in their corner or had the towel thrown in to stop Lomachenko from dismantling them. He is 10-15 lbs heavier than Rigo but Rigo was willing to concede the weight advantage simply to get the fight. He is rated number 3 pound for pound.

The boxing world had been waiting for this fight for years. Many (myself included) believed it would be a very close tactical fight where both men display their incredible skills. But what happened last Saturday left me in shock.

Both of these fighters are left handed which means it's called a "closed guard" match. A lefty vs righty match see both fighters with the same foot forward meaning their lead hands are directly in front of each other. This makes jabbing difficult and places more emphasis on the power hand to score with punches. There is always some awkwardness when two southpaws meet and the first round was a good example of that. Rigo came out looking to throw his vicious left hand while Lomachenko preferred to feel his opponent out with lead hand feints to probe Rigo's defense.

Another thing worth mentioning about the stance match-up is that Rigo would be out one of his best defensive tools. His lead hand is rarely used to jab. instead he uses it as an early warning system for incoming punches since you have to get his lead hand out of the way to land. Against another lefty with the opposite foot forward he doesn't have the position to use it as he normally does.https://i.imgur.com/wWPXZNO.mp4 Lomachenko found the key to finding Rigo as early as round 1. Due to Rigo's very long and nearly side on stance Rigo's head movement was limited almost exclusively to bending at the waist. Either leaning away or down to his left. Both of those options put Rigo directly in the path of Lomachenko's lead hand.

Lomachenko worked early to establish his jab. He feinted low to land it high and when he able to connect on a couple of flush and snappy jabs Rigo was forced to react to it. He reacted by moving his head. Down and to the left. Lomachenko quickly started to take advantage of this by closing the distance and planting his elbow on the back of Rigo's neck. Because he is right on top of Rigo he can't Roll his head underneath (like Mike tyson does to 3 right hands here https://i.imgur.com/oZqwfOp.mp4 ) and so he's trapped with nowhere to go. He has to wait for Lomachenko to get off him which gives Lomachenko the first move. As Rigo is picking his head back up Lomachenko is able to land a low/high lead hook before Rigo can regain his posture.

Lomachenko works hard to punish Rigo no matter which defense he chooses. He cracks off a triple uppercut combo as Rigo leans forward, punishing him for the attempt to vary his head movement. But Rigo is one of the finest defensive fighters the sport has seen since Floyd retired. Here we see Lomachenko attempt a cross counter over Rigo's jab combined with a stance switch to create a beautiful striking angle. However Rigo is able to duck beneath the punch and anticipate the footwork. He performs his trademark 180 degree pivot which stepping into the space Lomachenko just vacated. If somebody gets to your side in a fight the worst thing to do is turn on the spot to face them since they are in position to hit you but you are not in position to return fire. Here's what happens when you are turning on the spot against a great fighter https://i.imgur.com/IFPAWyi.mp4

Another example of Lomachenko using the elbow on the neck to trap Rigo in a poor position. Rigo shows excellent head movement to get away from this combination, but the simple fact is Rigo is busy defending that he just cannot seem to get his offense off. Rigo is primarily a counter puncher to uses his amazing defense to open up clean, powerful punches. But Lomacheko's super high activity kept Rigo on the defensive, and his elbow on the back of Rigo's neck ensured that after he had made Lomachenko miss he had absolutely no means to make him pay.

Rigo utterly refused to lead or throw in combination. He's soundly lost the first 3 rounds. If ever there was a time to start working on a plan B this is it. But something seems off with him. He is letting Lomachenko dictate the pace of the fight which is happening at a rate far higher than RIgo generally tends to work. The simple fact is Lomachenko has virtually shut down one of the finest counter punchers on the planet.

He refused to lead and so Lomachenko just kept pouring it on. If an opponent isn't throwing back there is no incentive for you to stop putting a beating on them plain and simple. Lomachenko has figured out Rigo's defense just simply taking what Rigo is giving to him. Rigo keeps his head low so Lomachenko just keeps smashing it. He actually hammerfisted Rigo on the back of the head and draws a warning from Steve Willis ( the man of a million faces, all of them hilarious https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CyJKSoQXUAED-vA.jpg )

Lomachenko's right uppercut has been far and away the most important punch in the fight. It's also probably the rarest punch you will ever see come from a southpaw. Most high level southpaws are somewhat one trick ponies (Pacquaio and a few others aside) they rely on the awkward angle of the left hand and discomfort of the power coming from the wrong side to trap their opponents. But Lomachenko's amazingly well-rounded skill set and ability to improvise on the fly is something very special. Every time Rigo dips to his left he is putting himself directly in the path of that punch. Lomachenko is taking advantage.

Rigo just seems to be out of ideas here. Lomachenko took a man with nearly 500 fights in his career and made him look totally lost. It's a running theme from Lomachenko's opponents. https://i.imgur.com/W76iSzc.mp4 They get sucked in by his constant angular footwork and and defense, they get countered so frequently, that it no longer even seems worth it try.

Rigo's frustration finally boils over. He moves in to clinch Lomachenko and hangs on for dear life. He held so tightly and refused to break to the point where the referee deducted a point from him.

At the end of round six Lomachenko knows the fight is a forgone conclusion. He walks away from Rigo before the bell has even rung. That my friends is a predator with the confidence to turn his back on his prey.

Rigo returns to his corner and in the view of many spectators Rigo admitted it too. Rigo claims to have broken his hand and the fight is stopped. It seems shady but we won't really know until the x-rays are released. But what we do know is that we just watched an all time great. Lomachenko on a purely technical level maybe the best boxer I have seen in my lifetime.