Rigondeaux, Shiming, Ramirez: 12 Rounds Of Thought

My initial thoughts on the weekend’s action featuring Guillermo Rigondeaux, Zou Shiming and Gilberto Ramirez.  

Round 1 – Three very entertaining bouts that saw Guillermo Rigondeaux finally put a fighter to sleep as opposed to the fans… Zou Shiming show why he’s pure entertainment in the ring… and Gilberto Ramirez put on a power punching display

Round 2 – Ramirez looks like he may be a problem in the Super Middleweight division.  

Round 3 – Three knockdowns in round 1… prompting the ref to call a halt to the bout.  That’s how you come out and make an impression… now only if his opponent had a pulse.  But that’s not his problem.

Round 4 – Regardless, I like the way he landed power shots accurately and with his size, could be a serious problem... time for a step up in class. 

Round 5 – Good to hear Larry Merchant on the call “Are we gonna see a new Shi-Ming Dynasty?”… Also, loved his art of war reference.  Miss him behind the mic.  

Round 6 – Man am I a fan of Zou Shiming’s counter-punching! It’s a thing of beauty. 

Round 7 – The kid’s pure entertainment… too bad he’s not a kid though.  At 33, were gonna have to see a quick jump in quality of opponents. Luis De La Rosa was a game opponent and a definite step up in class for Zou.  

Round 8 – Zou’s main issue is going to be his power… his hands are extremely fast… love the way he looks for angles and pulls the trigger with lightning speed... but it’s obvious he doesn’t possess fight changing power.  

Round 9 – He takes too many clean flush shots.  I tracked it… Zou took a flush shot in Rounds 1-7 and 10 by a fighter not known for having big-time power.  This could be a problem.  Rounds 8 & 9 were Zou’s most impressive rounds... hit De La Rosa at will and used his movement to avoid punches.  That’s the Zou we SHOULD see going forward… but his normal “hyper” style is more fan friendly.  He should definitely be a part of Top Rank PPV undercards from here on out.  

Round 10 -- Nothing’s better than seeing a fighter who has supreme confidence in their ability to box.  That’s Guillermo Rigondeaux. 

Round 11 -- Guillermo was on a mission... you can tell by his demeanor... came out ready to fire his straight left from the opening bell.  It’s obvious that he’s tired of being labeled a “boring” fighter. 

Round 12 -- The KO was NOT a sucker punch… they touched gloves and Sod was looking straight at Guillermo... nothing even close to Ortiz-Mayweather.  Guillermo came for blood… and he got it.  The man took the criticism personal and best-of-all… did something about it.  

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