Long read. Loma vs Rigo: Meeting of the masters

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Posted this in the Boxing forum but thinking about it, it may be better here.


Loma Vs Rigo: Meeting of the Masters


Best of the unpaid ranks:


On the 9th of December two of the greatest Amateur boxers of all time will meet… in a professional fight.


The Challenger, Former WBA and Lineal Super Bantamweight champion of the world Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux (Pro record 17-0 11 KO’s) hails from the greatest amateur boxing programme in the world. The 7 time Cuban national champion turned professional after an Amateur career that included double world championships (2001, 2005) and double olympic gold medals (2000, 2004) along with a ridiculous overall record of 463 wins against 12 losses.


The Champion, WBO super featherweight belt holder Vasyl “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko (Pro record 9-1 7 KOs) comes from another extremely successful amateur programme that of the Ukraine. Lomachenko holds perhaps an even more impressive record from his amateur days as he won two World championships (2009, 2011) two Olympic gold medals ( 2008, 2012) and a Silver from the world championships in 2007. His loss in the finals of the 2007 world championships came at the hands of Albert Selimov of Russia (who has also represented Azerbaijan) himself a multiple time world championships medalist and was avenged twice. Lomachenko left the unpaid ranks with an Amateur record of 396 wins to the one loss.


Jackal in a chicken coop


Guillermo Rigondeaux is one of the most avoided Boxers in the world.


Unfortunately despite holding a world title for 5 years the combination of being a tricky super slick southpaw who can punch a bit and not speaking English means that the only real name opponent he has fought is Nonito Donaire (31-1 at the time) who he beat via Unanimous decision ( with some arguing the scorecards were a little favourable to Donaire) back in 2013. Boxing is after all a business and why would you let your charge fight a relatively unknown, supremely skilled and dangerous opponent when for the same money he could fight an exciting but straightforward gatekeeper?

Leo Santa Cruz 34-1-1 (19KO) along with Carl Frampton (24-1 14KO) have both been accused of avoiding a fight with ‘Rigo’ at all costs along with former WBA Super Bantam world champion Scott Quigg (34-1-2 25KO) also somehow avoiding a matchup during his championship reign. It is then no surprise that Rigondeaux feels cheated that none of the other champions ever challenged him and that he had to go up to 130lbs to find a champion not afraid to put their reputation record and legacy on the line.


“Perhaps the best boxing skills ever”


Vasyl Lomachenko is borderline Superhuman. There is no surprise that his fan given nicknames are “Hi-Tech” and “The Matrix” the man does things to world class fighters that most pro’s couldn’t do to a heavybag. It may come as a surprise then that he is not undefeated. Boxing is rife with fighters who have seemingly world class records, 20-0, 15-0 25-0-1 and the like for fighters who don’t belong in the same realm as the 9-1 Ukrainian. The difference being that many prospects fight Journeyman. (an integral part of the business of boxing) Men who are there to make the prospect look good for a few hundred quid. They in return try not to ship too much punishment so they can do it for the next prospect in two weeks time. It’s the bit that people who are unfamiliar with boxing would be disgusted by, that one competitor is not actually competing but i have deep respect for journeymen as it is it’s own skill and boxing would die without them, it is the reality for most who make a go at the pro game. Lomachenko on the other hand fought and knocked out a 25-3 opponent in his first professional fight. His sole loss as a professional came in his second fight (oh for a world title by the way) against the vastly experienced Orlando Salido (41-12-2 29KO).

In a hotly disputed split decision Lomachenko learned one of the Key differences between the Pro game and the Amateur game- It’s not cheating if you get away with it. Punches on the bell, headbutts and low blows anything Salido could do to disrupt the superior boxer. Because professionals are often fighting to put food on the table and because fans have paid money and do not want to see a fight stopped due to a DQ.(Something that i learned watching a Midland area title fight between Jason Welborn and Ryan “Tank” Aston) After the Salido fight Lomachenko won the WBO featherweight and Super featherweight Titles and has retired 3 consecutive opponents on the stool in between rounds.


Cuban cool


If you were to ask many boxing managers for a list of words that could rule out a potential opponent i'm pretty sure “Cuban” and “Southpaw” would be pretty close to the top. Cuban boxing is a style based around hitting and not getting hit. Surely everyone does that though right? Well the Cubans take it to the extreme. Don’t take too many chances, never get involved in an exchange, hold when you feel uncomfortable and stay light on your feet. Rigondeuax is not the cleanest puncher you will see, he doesn’t have a fast snapping jab or a laser beam cross. In fact his punches can be quite laboured at times especially the left cross which comes more as clubbing overhand thrown with the arm. But where he shines is bodywork and angles. He is a Southpaw in the truest sense, not merely a right hand forward fighter but a true master of all the dirty little tricks that make them a nightmare to face. If his opponent keeps a high guard he will maneuver his lead right foot outside the opponent’s left and whip a left overhand around behind the opponent’s right forearm. If his man simply takes the punch and stays shelled up he will often unload a barrage of (admittedly crude looking) left handed shots often finishing with a beautiful left bolo under the opponent’s right elbow (more on this later). If the opponent chooses to punch back then Rigo’ will back step with his left foot often with a right hook cuffed behind the opponent’s head so that he is at right angles to him and therefore safe (this is of course if the pull behind the head hasn’t sent him sprawling). He will also step the right foot to the inside of his man’s lead left especially as his opponent is turning to throw a clean straight left straight down the middle. On the lead his offence usually consists of the classic Southpaw right hook into left straight combination either both to the head (see the Anusorn Yotjan fight) or the hook upstairs to set up the straight to the body (Hisashi Amagasa fight) he will also happily sling a sweeping left hook at the opponent any time they step into range, never the cleanest fighter he’s not particularly fussy as to whether it land across the chin or clubs the back of the head. Personally i think his best punch is the previously mentioned left bolo uppercut to the body. A fantastic punch both for and against the Southpaw ( with the right hand for the orthodox, see George Groves latest KO) and indeed many of Rigondeuax’s early victories were bodyshot KO’s with this punch. He will slot it in under the opponent’s right elbow during a barrage of left hands to the head or as his man steps forward onto it. His straight left to the body, either kidney or solar plex is also aver useful tool for him. Not only is it a good hurting punch he will also use it to run opponent’s onto the counter right hook or counter left straight to the head. He will throw it a few times to see if the opponent will chase him after he throws it then ‘Bounce’ his feet into and out of the punch and use the momentum of the bounce to lever into a right hook upstairs as the opponent is lunging for him. Alternatively he will use the bounce to throw a hard 1-2 hopefully catching his man mid step.


As i previously mentioned he is not the cleanest fighter, whether it be holding behind the head to punch with the left as seen in his latest fight or stepping on the opponent's right foot mid left cross for a knockdown to leading with the head or punching the back of his opponent’s head he has no qualms about using a dirty trick or two.


Defensively Rigo is very good at making his opponent miss by just the smallest margin in order to counter but has been caught by stupid punches that he should always have avoided. Against Jazza Dickens 22-1 7 KO Rigo would move just enough that any effect from the Liverpudlians punches was gone. There is a fantastic sequence from that fight where El Chacal makes a left hook miss by being so close that blow lands with the bicep to his shoulder and then immediately makes the follow up cross miss by a hair's breadth by pulling back over his left foot and immediately punishing the mistake with a hard left cross. In fact amongst the boxing community he is often praised for his elusive movement. At 5 foot 4 Rigo’ is short even for a bantamweight but he often uses this to his advantage, ducking low at the waist he can draw opponent’s into the Immortal sin of punching down at him (Joe Frazier was incredible at this) leaving him free to sling a left hook at his man’s chin that is now hopelessly unguarded. Against Teon Kennedy 17-1-2 7KO (at the time) he used one of the most simple tricks in the book, a very quick hand covering his opponent’s bicep meant he had the second he needed to line up a left cross to Kennedy’s chin.


However against Hisahi Amagasa 28-4-2 19KOs (at the time) he got caught trying to be too fancy. Attempting to circle behind his opponent with his hands below his waist he was caught clean on the chin by a right cross and sent tumbling, making a mistake like that against Lomachenko could well spell the end of the fight.


Hi- Tech Movement


If Guillermo Rigondeaux is a good example of Cuban Boxing then Vasyl Lomachenko is perhaps a good example of eastern bloc boxing at it’s finest. High volume, superb footwork lateral movement and head movement and excellent variety of punches from dominant angles. Again Lomachenko is not the cleanest one punch hitter you will see but he does punch sharper than Rigo’ as he keeps his elbows in tighter and will not bowl himself over on the left cross, preferring instead to punch in combination. Loma’ is superb at never quite being there to be hit while still being close enough that his opponent’s will try to hit him. If you are 6 feet away only a human giraffe hybrid or complete beginner is going to punch at you but Lomachenko gives the illusion of being right in front of his man easy to hit while being anything but. On the lead he is incredible at the “Rhythm” of boxing. Rather than every punch being at the same speed with the same power and with the same time in between each one Loma’ will play with all of these factors at will. A very easy way to visualise this would be the “tap, tap, rip” that he uses against shelled up opponent’s. He uses a high volume and wide variety of shots to keep his man guessing and then mixes in a hard punch with the fast pitter patter shots further causing the opponent to second guess where the next punch will come from or even hurting them.


Some of Lomachenko’s most impressive highlight reels have come off of his superb lateral movement. He uses that same step off to his right past the opponent’s lead foot that Rigo’ loves (Lomachenko is also a southpaw) but where Rigondeaux uses it as a get out of jail free card AFTER his combinations Lomachenko uses it to start his offence. Often off the left straight or left uppercut he will use the step out to give himself the angle for a cuffing right hook around the guard in combination with the left uppercut again if the opponent stays there. If his man turns to face him Lomachenko will actually make life even worse for them. As the opponent turns to face there is a second where his feet will be ‘Square’ and his guard easy to split and this is when Lomackenko’s left fist will come crashing in either in the form of a left hook/overhand ( see the Surya tatakhun fight for a perfect example) or a left uppercut ( See the Rocky Martinez fight for one of the best KOs ever). He will also use lateral movement to help land the uppercut, Throwing an uppercut from directly in front of someone makes it much more difficult to land than throwing it from an angle. Against Romulo Koasicha 25-4 17KO ( at the time) there is an excellent sequence where Lomacheno skips from one side of his shelled up opponent to the other firing in the appropriate uppercut as he goes. On the lead he will use the right (for him the lead) screwshot uppercut to split the guard for a follow up left straight and to get his right foot to the dominant outside angle. Like many Southpaws Rigo’ included his left straight to the body is a good hurting punch as is his bolo uppercut underneath the elbow although i believe Loma’ is more versatile with it, using it on the counter as well as mixed in with combinations of other punches (see his win over Jose Ramirez). Another nice Lomachenko trick that links back to our earlier discussion about ‘Rhythm’ in Boxing is to throw ‘False’ punches immediately after a ‘True’ one off the same hand. A ‘False’ punch being where no hip turn takes place and no weight is transferred so it is an arm punch. Double left straights or uppercuts in this manner can bamboozle opponents because well quite frankly you shouldn’t normally be getting hit with the exact same punch that just clocked you a millisecond earlier. Loma will also use the handtrap against shelled opponents, using the diagonal grip on the top of the glove to rip it out of the way to allow a punch throw E.G. using his right hand to pull down his opponents right and whipping a left hook into the previously occupied space.


Defensively Lomachenko is all action. Very high pace at all times he is constantly using his superb footwork to glide just out of danger, off to the side or just far enough back. His head movement is also superb as well as disciplined, he will slip shots as well as roll under return counters after throwing his own punches. With that being said one of the most eye catching parts of his defense is his liberal use of the right forearm and right hand behind his opponent's head. Whether it be just a cheeky use of a frame to keep the man’s head down so that he can’t punch properly or his eye catching ‘Matador drive by’ where he spins an opponent's head underneath his right armpit and hits them as they turn to face (he will do this to his left as well but prefers the right). He is however hitable as Salido showed, if you can put a pace on him and rough him up you can get to him.


The matchup


The more i look at this matchup the more i think that both combatants being Southpaws will play a key role. I can’t help but think that we are seeing a great Southpaw against a great fighter who happens to be a Southpaw. Much of Rigondeuax’s tricks rely on his opponent being orthodox, his favourite angle out to his right to land the left hand and the the right hook into left straight combination become infinitely more dangerous as he is circling towards the fellow Southpaws power hand. He is also 37 years old to Lomachenko’s 29 an unfortunate reality of being avoided for so long is that we may have already seen the best of him without seeing him against the best competition. With this being said Lomachenko is sometimes a little Blase about being hit with left hooks, a mistake which against a left hander could cost him. I think this fight may be decided by who can set the pace, if Lomachenko can draw Rigondeaux into a high paced exchange based fight i think he can outland and possibly wear out and catch the smaller man. However if Rigondeaux can slow the pace of the fight, hold when he needs to and fight in bursts he may be able to spoil and frustrate the younger man.


Either way we will be witnessing two of the greatest Amateur boxers of all time meeting in a true pound for pound superfight that i hope lives up to the hype. Mostly i would like to see the lighter weight fighters and Guillermo Rigondeaux in particular get the attention they deserve.
 
Can’t help but be disappointed that rigo is 37 and smaller
 
Can’t help but be disappointed that rigo is 37 and smaller
For sure it's a crying shame that he's had to be a champion for 5 years and go up 8lbs to find someone with a name willing to fight him
 
Rigondeuax is not the cleanest puncher you will see, he doesn’t have a fast snapping jab or a laser beam cross.


If his man simply takes the punch and stays shelled up he will often unload a barrage of (admittedly crude looking) left handed shots


<{clintugh}>


Please....never write a "breakdown" again. Much to learn have you. Much.
 
Really? Have you actually ever seen a Rigo fight?

Yes.

And while the rest of the world sings his praise for his pure technique and laser like left hand, we got some Sherdog White Belt here ...........


<{outtahere}>


You don't know what the hell youre looking at so while I give you a 6 for effort, on that needlessly long post.
I give you 2 for content as its more of a literal description of the obvious without much insight and of course a shocking lack of boxing knowledge.


<LucyBless>
 
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Yes.

And while the rest of the world sings his praise for his pure technique and laser like left hand, we got some Sherdog White Belt here ...........


<{outtahere}>


You don't know what the hell youre looking at so while I give you a 6 for effort, on that needlessly long post.
I give you 2 for content as its more of a literal description of the obvious without much insight and of course a shocking lack of boxing knowledge.


<LucyBless>
Someone's triggered
 
Someone's triggered

Don't be disheartened. Your work isn't bad, but I think the way it's written could be improved. I think you need to break down your paragraphs a bit more so they're not walls of text and paint more of a picture of what is going on visually (seeing as you don't have images to back it up). I'd also avoid using metaphor for every other description. I'd also say you repeat and use 'superb' a little too much.

I don't think the 4DaLulz gave the best advice, but I would say that a big part of analysing a fight is how the two come together. You give an overview of each fighter on a surface level, but you don't really explain how these two fighters match up.

For example, Lomachenko was able to beat Rigondeaux largely by being hard to predict, guage and counter. The fact that Lomachenko bounces in and out and doesn't stay in front of you very long, combined with being a pressure fighter who's style is full of feints and deception made it very hard for Rigo to counter. When Rigo did attempt to counter a punch it was either a faked bunch that resulted in his counter being countered or him countering and throwing on thin air because Lomachenko was too far out of the way.

Also whenever they were quite close, Lomachenko would simply clinch, lean and wrestle Rigondeaux out of his way and prevent Rigondeaux from throwing a good shot.

Now admittedly, I'm saying all this after they actually thought - but the fight more or less went how I expected it to.


So from the perspective of someone writing a break down, it would be useful if you don't just introduce the fact that Lomachenko uses frames, but explain what that does and how that can impact Rigondeaux game. Instead you give us the overview of both but once against don't explain HOW these styles match up together. It makes it quite difficult for someone reading to learn more in what should be an educational piece.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating, because I think you're clearly developing an eye for technique and I think you're definitely showing more knowledge than some people on this subforum - but I think at the moment it's like you're trying to tell us everything about both fighters, but not the fight.

I'm looking forward to seeing your next write up though, I think it's got a lot of potential.
 
Don't be disheartened. Your work isn't bad, but I think the way it's written could be improved. I think you need to break down your paragraphs a bit more so they're not walls of text and paint more of a picture of what is going on visually (seeing as you don't have images to back it up). I'd also avoid using metaphor for every other description. I'd also say you repeat and use 'superb' a little too much.

I don't think the 4DaLulz gave the best advice, but I would say that a big part of analysing a fight is how the two come together. You give an overview of each fighter on a surface level, but you don't really explain how these two fighters match up.

For example, Lomachenko was able to beat Rigondeaux largely by being hard to predict, guage and counter. The fact that Lomachenko bounces in and out and doesn't stay in front of you very long, combined with being a pressure fighter who's style is full of feints and deception made it very hard for Rigo to counter. When Rigo did attempt to counter a punch it was either a faked bunch that resulted in his counter being countered or him countering and throwing on thin air because Lomachenko was too far out of the way.

Also whenever they were quite close, Lomachenko would simply clinch, lean and wrestle Rigondeaux out of his way and prevent Rigondeaux from throwing a good shot.

Now admittedly, I'm saying all this after they actually thought - but the fight more or less went how I expected it to.


So from the perspective of someone writing a break down, it would be useful if you don't just introduce the fact that Lomachenko uses frames, but explain what that does and how that can impact Rigondeaux game. Instead you give us the overview of both but once against don't explain HOW these styles match up together. It makes it quite difficult for someone reading to learn more in what should be an educational piece.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating, because I think you're clearly developing an eye for technique and I think you're definitely showing more knowledge than some people on this subforum - but I think at the moment it's like you're trying to tell us everything about both fighters, but not the fight.

I'm looking forward to seeing your next write up though, I think it's got a lot of potential.
Thanks for the advice! This is real criticism as it's something i can actually take away and improve on. In my defence i wrote this one off the top of my head in my lunch break but definitely going back through it, it feels a little rushed with big blocks of solid text. Yeah i can see the over reliance on fancy words. The fight ended up playing out very interesting, Rigo never seemed to get his timing and Loma was able to feint out his counters and catch him stuck in that crouch and as you say frame off and stop him working. Thank you i will be sure to focus more on the actual match up rather than the background next time. Cheers.
 
Thanks for the advice! This is real criticism as it's something i can actually take away and improve on. In my defence i wrote this one off the top of my head in my lunch break but definitely going back through it, it feels a little rushed with big blocks of solid text. Yeah i can see the over reliance on fancy words. The fight ended up playing out very interesting, Rigo never seemed to get his timing and Loma was able to feint out his counters and catch him stuck in that crouch and as you say frame off and stop him working. Thank you i will be sure to focus more on the actual match up rather than the background next time. Cheers.

Keep posting them and I'll keep reading them! Just remember that there's always going to be someone new who has no clue what you're talking about. :D
 
Don't be disheartened. Your work isn't bad, but I think the way it's written could be improved. I think you need to break down your paragraphs a bit more so they're not walls of text and paint more of a picture of what is going on visually (seeing as you don't have images to back it up). I'd also avoid using metaphor for every other description. I'd also say you repeat and use 'superb' a little too much.

I don't think the 4DaLulz gave the best advice, but I would say that a big part of analysing a fight is how the two come together. You give an overview of each fighter on a surface level, but you don't really explain how these two fighters match up.

For example, Lomachenko was able to beat Rigondeaux largely by being hard to predict, guage and counter. The fact that Lomachenko bounces in and out and doesn't stay in front of you very long, combined with being a pressure fighter who's style is full of feints and deception made it very hard for Rigo to counter. When Rigo did attempt to counter a punch it was either a faked bunch that resulted in his counter being countered or him countering and throwing on thin air because Lomachenko was too far out of the way.

Also whenever they were quite close, Lomachenko would simply clinch, lean and wrestle Rigondeaux out of his way and prevent Rigondeaux from throwing a good shot.

Now admittedly, I'm saying all this after they actually thought - but the fight more or less went how I expected it to.


So from the perspective of someone writing a break down, it would be useful if you don't just introduce the fact that Lomachenko uses frames, but explain what that does and how that can impact Rigondeaux game. Instead you give us the overview of both but once against don't explain HOW these styles match up together. It makes it quite difficult for someone reading to learn more in what should be an educational piece.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating, because I think you're clearly developing an eye for technique and I think you're definitely showing more knowledge than some people on this subforum - but I think at the moment it's like you're trying to tell us everything about both fighters, but not the fight.

I'm looking forward to seeing your next write up though, I think it's got a lot of potential.
hey bro I have a question. You say Loma bounced in and out. I've noticed people say that russians like to bounce and have seen it compared to karate or tkd. is that accurate in your experience?
 
hey bro I have a question. You say Loma bounced in and out. I've noticed people say that russians like to bounce and have seen it compared to karate or tkd. is that accurate in your experience?

I don't think it's a conscious similarity, I think it's more that great fighters find what works regardless of their style. As for whether Eastern bloc guys are particularly bouncy, I think they definitely put more focus on efficient footwork and maximising power than a lot of American and British gyms do. Obviously it depends on the fighter and coach, but I tend to find that they know when to bounce out of the way and back in, but they're not really big on pendulum stepping on the spot or anything like that.

At least in my experience, I'm far from an expert!
 
<{clintugh}>


Please....never write a "breakdown" again. Much to learn have you. Much.

What a fucking dick. And it's cool if you are one, but at least show where he is wrong if you feel you know so much better. Otherwise you seem like the type of fool to just point fingers but not know much himself.
 
What a fucking dick. And it's cool if you are one, but at least show where he is wrong if you feel you know so much better. Otherwise you seem like the type of fool to just point fingers but not know much himself.

Lol...I did, it's the parts I highlighted.

Now who's a fool, clown ?
 
The only thing Loma need is a younger Mayweather around his weight class. That match up will be a game changer.
 
Lol...I did, it's the parts I highlighted.

Now who's a fool, clown ?

It looked more like you just didn't agree with his comments on Rigondeaux's punching technique more than any thing else, you didn't really have anything to say.
 
Lol...I did, it's the parts I highlighted.

Now who's a fool, clown ?

You clown, as you did exactly as I said you did, you just pointed your finger and said "WRONG!" But didn't explain why or give alternatives. Begone thot.
 
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