Can ‘The Flash’ smoke Cuban cigar?

THE most keenly watched boxer this year, WBO super bantamweight king Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire Jr., is booked to return to the ring on April 13 when he takes on WBA super bantamweight Guillermo Rigondeaux of Cuba in a scheduled 12-rounder at the Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, New York.

In the last two years, Donaire, 31-1 with 20 knockouts, has been busy unifying splintered world titles. In 2011, he demolished Mexican Fernando Montiel in two rounds for the combined WBC-WBO bantamweight (118 pounds) championship. Donaire moved up to super bantamweight (122 pounds) in 2012 and by July of the same year he was already the WBO and IBF super bantamweight ruler following victories over Puerto Rican Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. and South African Jeffrey Mathebula. Donaire relinquished the IBF belt in October 2012 and settled for the ornamental WBC Diamond belt in a ninth round stoppage victory over Japanese Toshiaki Nishioka.

Donaire, 30, is eyeing to unify the 122-pound crown again opposite Rigondeux, one of the greatest boxers to come from Cuba’s Olympic boxing factory. The guy is a seven-time (20002006) Cuban national champion and figured in nearly 400 fights as an amateur, losing only a handful. He won two Olympic gold medals (2000, 2004) before turning pro in May 2009.

Rigondeaux’s story is the stuff Hollywood movies are made of. Despite winning two Olympic gold medals, Rigondeaux never received a hefty reward from the government of Cuba. A fellow Olympic gold medallist, Joel Casamayor, was given a bicycle for his feat. Yuriorkis Gamboa, a teammate of Rigondeaux in the 2004 Olympic team, sold his Olympic gold medal when he realized it was not enough to buy him a present for his daughter.

In his search for a better life, Rigondeaux attempted to defect in July 2007 while taking part in the Pan American Games in Brazil. He was busted by the authorities and returned to Cuba three days later begging for forgiveness. Barred from boxing by the government, Rigondeaux defected again in 2009 and finally landed in the shores of Miami.

Confident of his boxing skills, Rigondeaux wanted to spar with Manny Pacquiao in his very first sparring session in the US Trainer Freddie Roach initially dismissed it as a publicity stunt, but he was left gasping in awe when he saw Rigondeaux in motion in the ring. “He’s the best counterpuncher I have ever seen,” Roach told “When I did the pads with him, I simply could not get through his defense.”

Fighting in a foreign land is no easy thing for Rigondeaux. His wife and children remain in Cuba where cameras installed by the government in their dilapidated abode constantly monitor their activities. Rigondeaux was looking for a fight in the United States when his mother passed away in Cuba. Still, in only his 9th paid contest in the US, Rigondeaux earned recognition as regular WBA super bantamweight champion following a sixth round knockout of Rico Ramos. Rigondeaux, 11-0 with eight knockouts, has made two successful defenses of the WBA bauble, stopping Teon Kennedy in five rounds in May 2012 and outpointing newbie Roberto Marroquin four months later. Rigondeaux got more than what he bargained for against Marroquin, as he was seriously hurt twice by the latter’s sizzling left hooks.

Rigondeaux, 32, is fighting on borrowed time, thus the need to accelerate his progress in the squared circle. The fight with Donaire is definitely the biggest in his career. Rigondeaux claims that he has been eyeing the fight for some time now and that it is the primary reason why he inked a deal with Top Rank Promotions.

Donaire-Rigondeaux figures to be a chess match, what with the fighters’ cerebral approach to the game. Donaire packs huge power in his left hook and Rigondeaux’s habit of dropping his right hand too low makes him very susceptible to the punch. But make no mistake, the Cuban is the real deal and his counter-punching approach figures to also expose Donaire who occasionally tends to swing for the fence.

Moreover, considering his roots, it is also safe to say this early that Rigondeaux is the hungrier fighter.