One of my dream fights and it's the obvious one to make atm. Sbw has arguably 3 of the most skilled titlists in boxing: nishioka; rigondeaux; donaire. I can't recall the ibf king from top of my head but surely he won't be up there with these 3. Honestly I can't call this fight I mean we have one of the most consistent performers against the greatest amateur in history. My head tells me nishioka has all the tools to negate rigo the way cordoba did, but when rigo is in seek and destroy mode i'm not sure who can withstand his arsenal.
Winnable for Rigo. Whilst not a lefty (and Nishioka has developed dice not draining himself to make 118lbs) Sahaprom showed how you can maintain range with a simple punch selection and completely baffle the Jap'. Nishioka has a wallop in the left when he draws you on to it, and has the ability to box his man, but Rigo should be fresh enough to take a decision here, though if Nishioka gets on his bike he seems a bit more comfortable leading and may be able to get enough off when he jumps in to get a win himself, whilst stunting the Cuban's countering opportunities by not being all out aggressive. See the 2nd half of the Munroe fight to see how he should approach Rigondeaux (IMO anyway) It's a pick 'em, that's for sure.
I think Rigo will do a points jobs on him, I love how he shoot his left to the body he's great to watch.
I had it 2-1-1, but the final natch is a complete rout, and Sahaprom clearly proved his superiority over the quartet IMO. Nishioka was very one paced back then, and has improved since he stopped dragging himself down (was a massive bantam but lacked stamina) but Sahaprom had him sussed out by the final fight. In fact, I had the first fight to Nishioka. Boxed Ears had it to Sahaprom, big, so I can understand that some of the credit could be dished either way for the series, but as aforementioned Nishioka could not avoid the right hand throughout the series and by the 4th got battered with it.
Yeah the 2-1-1 is similar to how I had it. That's what I was referring to. The last fight was big but by then so was toshiaki. If they'd made a fifth at sbw one nishioka had picked up his belt I think he'd have won that one big. I know there was a stylistic clash there but nishioka is very very good now and much better than he was then. I'm not convinced saha's tactics would have been as successful against the improved nishioka.
Boxing fans are the big winners here if this gets made. Desperate to see Rigondeaux fight a little more regularly though, and i'm not sure he would be risked at this stage against Nishioka. Hope i'm wrong on that count.
I dont think Sahaprom was built for anything over 118. Also, Rigo' doesn't need to punch as much as the Thai. My pout is that he can find a punch that works for him and probably maintain it. Nishioka isn't a seamless blend of offence and defence now and hardly infallible. Nor is Rigo', just making a point that with consistent application Nishioka can be beaten.
Also, whilst Nishioka has improved, the kinda' mid-range stalkers he's beaten (Gonzalez, Marquez) just couldn't maintain their foothold there like the Thai could (awkward, his right hand acted as a jab) and Nishioka likes guys that come at him (aforementioned and Munroe) I think the Cuban's mid-range game could be more problematic for Nishioka than any of those guys, as he's more likely to utilise lateral movement after punching, whereas the others straight straight up and straight on. It's certainly an intriguing one.
The way he adapted against munroe combined with his obvious stamina improvement genuinely leads me to believe a consistent application would not be enough here. I think toshiaki is still limited to some degree but he can certainly adapt mid fight which is something i've not seen yet from rigo. Also the twelve round distance could certainly prove problematic to someone who's an experienced amatuer and somewhat inactive as a professional. It's hugely interesting and i'd love to see it. For the record i'd expect donaire to beat arce, nishioka and rigo but ofcourse he's totally inexperienced at the weight. As it stands I consider toshiaki the best sbw in the world today but as I said in my first post on this thread, the division is very top heavy atm in a glorious way providing the fights come off. As a sidenote I find it hilarious that this morning i'm simultaneously debating rigo v noshiaki and greb v burns - only on esb
;-) As I said though, I think it's the consistent stalkers that he can adapt to. It'd be interesting to see what stance he takes, and how many looks he gives to Rigo', and to see how Guillermo reacts to different paths Nishioka leads him down. Would love to see it, but would prefer Donaire-Rigondeaux first :good
There's also the very real possibility that rigo catches toshi and bombs him out. Once donaire beats his sacrificial lamb the winner of him vs either toshi or rigo will surely be the top dog of the division. If a unification tournament can be put together we'll be in for a real treat.
