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NOTES FROM THE BOXING UNDERGROUND: LOMACHENKO VS. RIGONDEAUX FIXED FROM THE START

By Paul Magno | December 11, 2017
NOTES FROM THE BOXING UNDERGROUND: LOMACHENKO VS. RIGONDEAUX FIXED FROM THE START

No, it wasn’t fixed in the way many boxing fans think of a fix. There wasn’t any behind the scenes skullduggery going on, no hushed talks about so and so taking a dive or such and such official leaning on the side of the money fighter. There was nothing that could land anyone in the joint or get them banned from the sport. But the fight you saw on Saturday between two-time Olympic gold medalists was fixed.

And the masterful thing about this Lomachenko-Rigondeaux fix was that it was done in plain view and sold so expertly that people—even some usually smart boxing people—were actually debating that the pre-arranged patsy would take the win.

No, this fight wasn’t made by Top Rank promotions with the idea that Rigondeaux would win or even could win. But the cult of Guillermo Rigondeaux fandom is so intense, so dedicated, that even if the Cuban master boxer were to be dumped into a shark tank for a tussle with a raging Great White, many of the Rigo true believers would be arguing to the very end that “The Jackal” shouldn’t ever be counted out of a fight.  Very few other fighters could be sold as a viable opponent in a “dream fight” like we just saw, given the longshot chances of actually winning. 

Realistically, though, Bob Arum and the brain trust at Top Rank Promotions would never have allowed one of their prized properties to be put into a situation where he could be beaten and/or embarrassed on national TV. They especially wouldn’t allow it to happen against Rigondeaux, someone who had already done it once, back in 2013, to Nonito Donaire, when both fighters were Top Rank stablemates. A non-Top Rank Rigondeaux was not getting this fight, unless there was pretty much zero chance of the applecart being overturned.

This is why, as the boxing world buzzed and debated this fight as if it were actually a “fair” fight,” I held my ground with a more diplomatic, “Rigo will have to be Superman” to win,” stance. 

I suppose anything is possible in boxing, but reality is reality. Rigondeaux was operating under just about every possible disadvantage. Height, weight, age, and activity were all in the Ukraine native’s favor, plus there was always the advantage of being the Arum fighter fighting on an Arum card should the fight go the full twelve. 

Even Lomachenko seemed to understand the proper weight to attach to the importance of a fight where the playing field was so tilted in his favor.

“He’s a good fighter, he’s a top fighter, he’s the king in boxing, but he’s the king in his weight category,” Lomachenko said in his post-fight interview. “It’s not his size, it’s not his weight…so, it’s not big win for me because it’s not the weight category”

The topic came up in last week’s Magno’s Bulging Mail Sack about whether I’d give Lomachenko full credit for a dominant win over Rigondeaux, but it’s hard to determine what “full credit” should be in a case like this. Lomachenko DID—easily and decisively-- beat a great fighter and someone who had legitimately earned a spot in pound-for-pound rankings (if that’s your thing), but, again, there were A LOT of extenuating circumstances attached to the win. 

If Gennady Golovkin destroys a beefed up, inactive Manny Pacquiao at 160 in six rounds and makes the Filipino legend quit on his stool, what amount of credit would be given to “Triple G” for the victory? 

Whatever answer you give to that question will give you the answer to the question of how much credit Lomachenko deserves for doing away with Rigondeaux.

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