Rigondeaux, a celebrated amateur boxer who won two Olympic gold medals, showed off his remarkable speed, slick movement and counter-punching but had to survive a 10th round knockdown to win a unanimous decision.
The judges scored the bout 114-111, 115-112, and 116-111 in favor of the Cuban.
"Everybody talked about how (I) was gonna come here and how (I) was going to lose, how (I) wasn't the best," Rigondeaux said through an interpreter after the fight.
"Today, I proved it. I showed I am the best at 122 (pounds)," he said.
Rigondeaux extended his unbeaten record to 12 fights with eight knockouts, and unified the World Boxing Organization, World Boxing Association and The RING super bantamweight championship belts with the victory.
The loss ended a 12-year, 30-bout winning streak for Donaire, who entered the fight as a favorite after winning several Fighter of the Year awards following his sensational campaign in 2012.
But he was outfoxed by Rigondeaux right from the opening bell, as the Cuban quickly settled into a rhythm and controlled the pace of the match for majority of the rounds.
"He did well," a disappointed Donaire conceded after the bout. "It was my mistake for not changing up."
The match quickly turned into a chess match, with neither boxer willing to engage for long stretches. But Rigondeaux was able to pile up the points thanks to his constant activity with his jab, as well as his quick, powerful counters to Donaire’s sporadic attacks.
Egged on by his corner, Donaire would become more active in the second half, actively loading up his left hand even as both of his eyes were beginning to swell.
But Rigondeaux was able to elude him, and Donaire was unable to put together a good offensive attack until the 10th round.
After Rigondeaux slipped early in the 10th, Donaire found some success as he was able to get inside the Cuban's guard. A brief exchange ended when Donaire unleashed a monstrous left straight that sent Rigondeaux sprawling to the canvas for a mandatory count.
"I dropped him and I thought that was more than enough at least to get a draw," Donaire admitted afterwards.
The knockdown put the Cuban on the defensive, as he backed away from Donaire for the rest of round 10 as the Filipino’s search for a follow-up went nowhere.
Donaire's chances of stealing the fight evaporated in the 12th round, when Rigondeaux connected on a straight that hurt the Filipino's right eye. He would spend most of the final round covering up his right eye and fighting one-handed, while trying to back away from the Cuban until the final bell.
"I got careless, and I came in, and I knew he was gonna throw that. It was a mistake," Donaire said.
Donaire acknowledged that he made a mistake on his game plan, as he spent most of the fight looking for a one-punch knockout.
"He didn't have any power inside, and we should have pressured him. I was just going with one-punch, and that was a mistake that I made," he said.
"The Filipino Flash" said he is willing to fight Rigondeaux again, but is also considering a move up in weight.
It was Donaire’s first loss since March 10, 2001, when he lost his second professional fight to Rosendo Sanchez via unanimous decision.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
