Rigo vs Mathebula...Make it happen...

You have to look at it from a stylistic perspective.

Donaire had to be aggressive and take risks to beat Matebula. As perceptive and quick on his feet that Donaire is, when he tried to stay on the outside against Matebula, he allowed Mathebula to pepper him with shots.

And Mathebula uses his height and his reach to do just enough to land on his opponent while avoiding any counters.

Donaire had to adapt and get aggressive to beat this guy.

Rigo is a defensive oriented fighter. The last time he got aggressive, he got knocked down by a jab.

Are you so sure that Rigo could take Mathebula's punches? Rigo would have a hell of a time winning this fight on the outside considering he's even smaller than Donaire.

This is a very difficult fight for Rigo in my opinon.

Although...it could also be horribly boring with both fighters risking very little, and Mathebula doing just enough to win round and use his legs to move out of the way.

 

Rigo thrives when his opponent comes to him. I don't think he's as comfortable when he has to attack an opponent.

Mathebula's ribs will be exposed, but how do you propose that Rigo will get to them?

Mathebula is content in stinking the joint out and peppering Rigo with long punches from a distance.

Will Rigo take the necessary risks to close the distance?

Even then, Rigo has not shown a very good right hook, which would be incredibly useful against Mathebula.

While Rigo does have a solid left hand, I have not seen him utilize often it when attacking an opponent. He lets his opponent attack him.

Mathebula will not attack him with reckless abandonment, he'll fire from a distance, and move away, just outside of Rigo's reach.

 

I think people are getting carried away with Rigo's ability, picking him to KO Mathebula who is a fighter reluctant to take risks.

Considering Rigo doesn't have much of a right hook, I don't see a KO.

His only punch will be a straight left hand and perhaps an uppercut if he catches Matebula leaning in, which is very unlikely, but could happen.

So if Mathebula doesn't have to worry about Rigo's right hand, how will Rigo get a KO?

 

Don't get me wrong, I don't even really want to see this fight. It can potentially be a stinker.

I'm just pointing out that Donaire has taken on some risky opposition to prove his versatility.

Does this mean Donaire will beat Rigo? No. But, Rigo fans have to at least respect what Donaire has done and his ability. For those that think Rigo will easily beat Donaire, I think they are heavily misguided.

I think Mathebula has decent footwork in the sense that he was rarely caught against the ropes.

He was pretty effective at moving around the ring.

 

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