Thin Technical observations on Brandon Rios, and Nonito Donaire.

Rios has good fundamentals for an inside fighter. He moves his head, keeps his guard up, buries his head on his opponent's chest. He also has the Physical attributes that compliment his style: good chin, good stamina, good power.

 

Didn't read.... Nothing at all "technical" about Rios....

 

I liked how Rios dipped under the jab and countered with the overhand right

 

yeah i also like how he was thinking a few punches ahead like throwing then ducking, occasionally that is, when he wasn't going blow for blow haha

 

Alvarado fought stupid. He should have tried to use his footwork more tie up on some occasions (although I know it's not fan friendly), and keep his body work consistant.

I mean, even if it was jab, jab, right hand to the body, rotate. Either way, his pride cost him this fight.

 

James Toney has good inside fighting ability. Rios, well, he can take a hell of a punch. Watch James Toney vs Barkley.

 

:bbb

Starting to warm to Rios a bit.

 

For a guy with a username like that you should know better.

 

did you watch the fight? Rios is SKILLED on the inside. nobody's saying he's James Toney, but for today's standards he's one of the best.

 

You're right, he is.

 

Lamotta was more technical than Rios.

He was harder to hit on the way in.

Look at the caliber of fighters Lamotta fought compared to Rios.

 

That's his regular stance.

 

Where did I compare Lamotta to Rios? My point is that inside fighting requires skill, even when it's ugly and warring. His post suggested Rios's infighting was not technical, which discredits inside fighting throughout the sport.

 

Rios-Alvocado(Alvarro, ****, Alvarado)-

Forgot Alvarado started off jabbing but then went towards in fighting. Was pretty open to the left hook but mainly overhand rights from Rios. Fun fight with inside ability but not a Marquez-Katsidis or classic infighting such as Corrales-Castillo wars.

Sorry the Rios hype is getting to me so I had to bring that up lol.

Alv would look to jab to keep his distance but most of his work as well as Rios was from inside and mid range. Skillful despite how brutal it looks. Both men tending to ignore the body for the most part at least early on. Alvarado usually gets started jabbing but always goes right back to scrapping instead of boxing. Fun as a casual viewer but from a perspective as coach it is mighty frustrating. Mainly there defense is holding their hands up which I don't count.

TBF, Alv said he did look to box but said he had to throw more riskier punches. That does nothin to describe his lack of footwork. It was either fight or rest and no inbetween. Rios brought the fight to him but Alv did not have the proper foot technique to circle him and keep him reseting. Both guys too straight anyways. Seems like hooks and uppercuts could not miss with either fighters further highlighting their lack of head movement and just covering up as defense, which I dont count.

Well bodyshots didn't land much honestly which was very odd as thats the main punch in almost all inside exchanges. They did well to keep their elbows high enough to block those but again lack of activity to downstairs just made it predictable they would work the "branches" and not the "root". Left hooks to the head did slow Mike down at times as early as the third but Rios should have mixed in more bodywork and he could've taken him out sooner than the 7th.

The exchanges were getting to Alv. He didn't have that bounce he had in the early rds and was just looking more to trade than box. He was never that mobile anyways but my point stands is that he was looking slower little by little. One thing I did love is his commitment to start every rd jabbing even though he always would fall into brawls. Inside he didnt place his right hand in the proper position to block left hooks as routinely would get tagged by them and they did the most damage to him. Rios mistake is that he lets his opponent get around him and move freely thus time and time again failing to cut off the ring. We saw the same problem against Abril though this time he got lucky as Alv was a brawler.

May come off as overly critical but I have to I love the art of boxing and not the brutality. Despite their flaws it was a fun fight and both guys were skilled offensively in the inside. The stoppage was fair as Mike did seem like he was looking for help and more punches against him means more punsihment he didnt need to take. Can understand it going a little longer but again, less damage against Mike.


Nishi/Donaire:

Nonito finally looks great against a negative fighteer about time! Despite Nishi looking like he was only in it for retirement money I gotta give Danaire his props. Nishi respected Donaire's power(too much) and was very weary of hard counters that Nonito is skilled at. Nishi kept that right hand very high and just stayed defensive.

Nonito would circle him, feint, then nail him with a straight right hand either to the head or body. His left hand was a measuring stick as to what punch he would through while he circled as he would feint with it and seldomly jab. Mainly looked for big punches but not haymakers. Even when ducking and pivoting Nishi would have his hands in the appropriate spots to block but never truly fire back. Nonito look for the right hand early a bit too much until he started going to the body as the fight progressed.

Since Nishi was failing time and time again to mount or even try to mount an offense Nonito became more assertive. He was trying to get through the guard when he should have been trying to get around it. Nonito was still getting him but he'd have to win rds by default as Nishi was not looking to win and Donaire was still effective. Loved the feint then right hand combos by Donaire. Nishioka was spending too much time predicting what Nonito would do and while he was slightly tilted he usually got caught by right hands. Jab was barely a weapon but more of a gateway and allusion so Donaire could land combos and big punches.

Nonio stayed on the move and would always circle and get in new positions after attacking. Footwork isn't too bad though he was getting reckless at times. He's a victim of headhunting but is doing enough work to get away with it as well as Nishi not looking to counter of fre back in general. Never looked to mix it to the body and only looked for single shots down there. Ironically the first kd(rd 6) came from a left hook to the body from Donaire followed by a left uppercut up top.

In the 7th Nishi became more aggressive but only limited to throwing single shots then evading whether by rolling or stepping out. Only was looking to time him with the left. The jab was slightly effective only because Donaire was bouncing around waiting and got caught a little. Maybe it was a giveaway rd as Nonito looked very damn bored and (GGG!) Nishi was slightly landing the more telling straight punches but Donaire had the "flashier" but more efficient work.

After Donaire did the Chris Paul spin-flop in rd 9, Nishi went after him like a minute later. He had a bit of success jabbing him against the ropes only to be put on his ass again but this time by a straight right. He looked out of it but possibly could've continued. Again, less unecessary punishment taken the better. Would have liked this fight more than the first had Donaire went to the body much more. Props to him and all fighters I've mentioned in this card showcased on HBO Sat night.


Rios-Alv was good but Nonito-Nishi was ight. Had fun with the breakdown.

 

Can you at least try to elaborate?