Rigondeaux’s Fists of Fury

WBA/WBO super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (14-0, 9 KOs), the fighter everyone loves to hate, took care of business at Venetian Macao’s Cotai Arena today by flattening Sod Kokietgym (63-3-1, 28 KOs) at just 1:44 of the first round.

With history as a guide, everyone expected Rigo to waltz his way to a decision or late round stoppage. But El Chacal has heard the detractors, who run the gamut from HBO to Bob Arum to Nonito Donaire, no less than everyone in between. But if Rigondeaux intended to make a statement, to prove that even he has a killer instinct, he succeeded, at the expense of a Thai challenger with tons of experience.

Rigo the thinking man’s fighter used his head in China. After landing straight left followed by a right hook, the Cuban southpaw butted heads with Kokietgym who went down as if shot. Referee Mark Nelson ruled an accident, waved on the fighters, and the action continued.

The fighters touched gloves—and El Chacal, wasting no time, pulled a Floyd Mayweather. A quick 1-2 dropped Sod a second time…and that’s all she wrote.

The Thai protested the stoppage. The crowd in Macao booed.

Rigondeaux, who remains undefeated, just can’t win.

http://www.boxing.com/rigondeauxs_fists_of_fury.html