Guillermo Rigondeaux v Robert Marroquin

Former Cuban amateur superstar Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8) retained his WBA Super Bantamweight by defeating the somewhat disappointing Robert Marroquin (22-2, 15) via a clear decision.

In the early rounds Rigondeaux dominated the bout, controlling both the distance the pace of the bout at will with his accurate jab, fantastic footwork and hurtful counter straight. He was helped somewhat by the fight that Marroquin did little to upset the rhythm of the Cuban champion.

In round 3 Marroquin had his first real success as he rocked Rigondeaux with several hard right hands, though he failed to follow up on any of the shots and almost seemed to allow Rigondeaux off the hook. Marroquin was simply throwing single shots with no real confidence to land any sort of combinations

Having lost the 3rd round Rigondeaux immediately re-claimed control of the bout and landed several hard and hurtful shots on Marroquin including 3 solid left hands at the end of the round. The Cuban's control of the bout was solidified in the 5th when he dropped Marroquin for the first time and literally did as he wished through out the rest of the round. This was followed by 3 rounds of Rigondeaux dominating with out ever looking like forcing a stoppage.


Having fallen well behind on the cards it was obvious that Marroquin was going to have to do something special late on. Whilst the challenger once again rocked the champion in round 9 he failed to follow up and allowed Rigondeaux to create the space he needed to recover his legs, this was to be the final chance for Marroquin who failed to land anything of note in the final 3 rounds. Instead the final rounds were all Rigondeaux who would go on to damage the nose of the challenger and drop him again in round 12 to claim a clear decision.

Whilst the performance was less than stellar by Rigondeaux it was an easy victory in all honesty and that was because Marroquin allowed it to be easy. Marroquin stood off Rigondeaux all night and allowed the Cuban to do as he wished. Even when Marroquin hit Rigondeaux he allowed the Cuban the space and time to recover, perhaps signalling that the fight simply came too early for Marroquin who was brave but looked very limited. The bout was maybe too boring for Rigondeaux who perhaps felt too comfortable though if he fights someone like Nonito Donaire like this, he will be made to pay.