What it Means to be Underrated in the Sweet Science Today
By Muslimah McLendon
I always say the “great” are truly under appreciated in the sweet science. This has been an issue for many years. One of the legendary and future hall of famers that comes to mind is the ageless legend Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins. This man is the epitome of what truly mastering the fundamentals of the sweet science means. He’s had a pro career that has expanded more than 20 years. At 50 years old he still reigns supreme and he hasn’t taken any punishment in his career. To the “casual” boxing fan he would be considered boring. He’s never had huge pay per view numbers, and he’s always criticized for being defensive minded first and foremost.
Guillermo Rigondeaux faces this very same criticism today. This Cuban superstar is 15-0 with 10K0s. He had a very impressive amateur background. He won the Gold Medal at the 2000 and 2004 summer Olympics bantamweight division. He complied an impressive 475 wins with just 12 losses. In 2013 he was thrust into the spotlight when he faced then champion Nonito Donaire for his super bantamweight title on HBO. To many fans watching Rigodeaux didn’t stand a chance against the hard left hand of Nonito. From the opening bell he completely embarrassed and picked Donaire apart. He outslicked, outboxed and completely outclassed him for 12 rounds to become the new champion and the man to beat at 122lbs. From then on I knew he was going to be a superstar in the making. He beat Joseph Agbeko three months later in a lopsided unanimous decision. Since then he hasn’t had any major fights as the champion.
2013 was Rigodeaux’s last time fighting on HBO. This absolutely baffles me. Here is a man that is a technician, a student of the game, has great power, but yet to the fans he is a bore to watch. The essence of what boxing truly means has been stripped from the minds of the fans today. They don’t want to watch a pure boxer like Guillermo they rather see someone getting their head knocked off by a puncher like GGG. Rigodeaux has been called “negative” by many people who feel he doesn’t come forward enough to throw meaningless hard punches. Rigodeaux is a boxer that likes to pick his spots and land his punches he doesn’t waste energy and he doesn’t like losing. In my opinion it takes more skill and finesse to have your accuracy, timing, defense and the ability to control the entire pace of a fight down packed to perfection, then it does to stand and throw a bunch of hard punches praying that they find their target. I’m a woman that grew up to appreciate the students of the game. I rather see artwork from Guillermo, then to watch punching bags like Brandon Rios and Alfredo Angulo take a beating just to mount their offense. The less abuse and unnecessary punishment you take in the sport, the more you are guaranteed longevity in the sweet science.
We as boxing fans need to bring back the true appreciation for the best sport in the world. Slick technicians like Rigodeaux should be fighting better competition and appreciated for the skill they bring to ring. He shouldn’t be forced to fight opponents whose names don’t ring any bells in boxing. He should be fighting the likes of Leo Santa Cruz on a big card for everyone to watch. It’s time to bring boxing back to what it really means, to hit and not be hit.
