That would be a very interesting fight, prime Rigondeaux was so disciplined and sharp. I can't really envision a scenario in which he'd allow Inoue to impose himself on him as he wasn't afraid to be a counter punching spoiler. I guess I'll go with Inoue by a controversial decision.
The Rigondeaux who beat Donaire was a special fighter, he’d outbox Inoue, he also has enough power to gain Inoue’s respect, although Rigondeaux should avoid getting trapped in the corner or against the ropes, Inoue is great at timing your head movement, predicting where your gonna be and timing it, and he often does this when opponents are slipping and sliding whilst against the ropes. Rigondeax should use a lot of feints and constant side to side movement when he approaches the ropes, so Inoue will struggle to read his movement and will have a harder time closing him off.
Inoue beats him up. Rigondeaux even in his best fight was dropped pretty hard against Donaire. Plus even against Amagasa he was down twice, albeit the second was a push, IIRC. The latter example is proof that Rigo's mandible couldn't handle Nipponese leather.
I would choose Inoue to win this matchup regardless of where it took place but Rigo excelled at setting traps and countering he really was a master baiter
Great fight. I think Rigondeaux would cause problems early but Inoue would win in the long-run. Inoue late TKO.
Inoue has a few struggles and shaky moments at the start but ends up switching gears and overwhelms Rigo in the late rounds. I can see Rigo retreating constantly once he sees that Inoue is able to adapt to his style, figures out how to penetrate through his defense, and not allowing him to do the same counters. The only question is if Inoue batters RIgo to the point of stoppage or if Rigo decides to quit on his stool.
We are applying the same logic just from diffrent sides. But, I still favor Inoue in a match up. In all honesty, would you be surprised if Rigo pulled off the win?
Prime Rigo was special but I do think Donaire just had the right style to make him look so good for that night. Rigo is great at what he does best but he is someone that just doesn't seem to have enough intestinal fortitude to dig deep when fights don't go his way. That's the major difference between Inoue and Rigo for me.