I’d actually favour Hamed. Rigo getting shook up by Marroquin, dropped by Córdoba and Donaire....all decent punchers, the later an excellent puncher (but one dimensional) I tend to think Naz’s odd style might see him land and throw off Rigo’s radar. Rigo was incredible, seemingly supernatural, but not flawless. I have no doubt he could time Naz and tame him for a few rounds, but I don’t reckon he survives Hamed’s nuclear power.
Either Rigondeaux on points, clear, or Hamed by KO. I'd lean toward the former but Rigo is basically never more than a couple of punches away from getting iced for the full duration; he'd have to be mental careful and cagey (which he's very capable of). I find his all-round technical ability and counter and on the move to be overstated if I'm honest, but he's probably still shrewd enough a judge of distance and angles to keep Naz on the turn and unable to set himself due to his poor balance and offensive footwork. He was cautious too, Rigondeaux, and tended not to give too much away in the way of counter-punching opportunities for the other bloke. Very good fencer with decent defensive positioning and radar, though not special, and an excellent fast, straight, hard puncher with good timing. I could see him scoring one or two knockdowns probably balance related and being able to really stun/hurt Naz (but probably not stop him; his chin was decent). That said, Hamed's switch hitting ability and ability to throw those unexpected oddball smart bombs could very well spell doom. Rigondeaux recovered well against Donaire when hurt but I've never been fully convinced of his durability. More his composure and survival instincts. He could fight sneaky and dirty up close too, where Hamed was a bit feeble on occasion and prone to frustration. That's the thing with Hamed; he never seemed willing against Barrera especially to really cut loose when he was getting outboxed, tending to posture instead and try to bait the opponent onto hammer blows even when they weren't biting.
Yes @Tin_Ribs Rigo was not made of glass, but he wasn’t made of iron. And he’d get hit more against Nonito, who was a one dimensional pure counter puncher. Hamed much more capable of creating opportunities and such an awkward fighter. Nonito was so textbook Rigo must’ve felt half asleep until he got hit (and that certainly woke him up!)
This has to be a joke. Naseem flattens Rigo. Rigo was a great amateur, but he had to be one of the most overrated fighters as a pro I'd ever seen. His biggest claim to fame was beating Donaire, who would've been lucky to make it 5 rounds with Naseem.
Hamed was a weird one when having to lead. His balance was ****ing horrific and his footwork wasn't great either. He just never seemed comfortable to me having to stalk, looking all lungey, plodding and sloppy, but then out of nowhere he could sometimes feint and bait people open from an odd angle and quickly turn surgeon-like with those trip hammer blows. If his footwork had been on the level of Graham for instance, that's a scary fighter you've got (though still flawed).
Hamed nearly always hit the deck because of his shite balance though and was rarely truly hurt. His chin was better than Rigo's without doubt imo, more battle-tested.
Naseem may have been in his pomp at 122. I can see him catching the Cuban early and adding to his eye catching early career KO record. But the longer the fight goes, the more Rigo gets into it.
