FILE – Nonito Donaire, left, and Guillermo Rigondeaux face off ahead of their super bantamweight title fight. AP
A five-division champion, Nonito Donaire knows a thing or two about fighting, so when he saw Guillermo Rigondeux quit mid-fight against Vasyl Lomachenko, that decision did not quite sit well with him.
“Incredible performance from Loma, Rigo has never been in this position where he has been dominated every way,” Donaire posted on Twitter Sunday. “But I still can’t understand how a fighter quits.”
“I fought with bloody hands, I fought with numerous fractures, and sometimes my brain tells me to stop and tells me I’ve done enough but never in my life have I ever quit.”
Rigondeux, a natural super bantamweight, moved two weight classes to challenge Lomachenko for the WBO world super featherweight belt and failed after he quit on his stool before the seventh round.
READ: Lomachenko stops Rigondeaux in bout between Olympic greats
“You could knock me down and I’ll at least attempt to get up,” said Donaire (38-4). “But I won’t quit ever, it is what it is.”
Donaire added that he wasn’t bitter losing to Rigendeaux and that he even wanted to see his former opponent to win especially after moving up a couple of weight classes.
READ: Donaire yields world boxing title to Rigondeaux
“The Filipino Flash” lost to Rigondeaux in 2013 via unanimous decision in their unification bout for the WBA and WBO world super bantamweight titles.
Donaire, the current WBC silver featherweight champion even mentioned that he also wanted Nicholas Walters, whom he lost to in 2014, to win against Lomachenko back in 2016.
READ: Unbeaten Walters KOs Donaire for title
“Some people believe I’m sour or bitter and wanted Rigo to lose, on the contrary, I wanted Walters and Rigo to win because in doing so it gives me the credibility of getting beaten by the top pound-for-pound,” said Donaire.
“Staying on the stool with half the fight left, on the other hand, negates the macho image purported by going two weight divisions up.”