Day of the Fight: Rigondeaux vs. Donaire

After weighing in yesterday afternoon, I followed Rigondeaux as he slid an arm into his Miami Heat leather jacket from MSG to his hotel across the street. Over the last few years of filming, nearly everyday that I've followed Rigondeaux in my documentary an unexpected disappointment happens along with some magic. I don't even bother anymore preparing for either. When I've tried I always get ambushed or miss the good stuff anyway. Fate likes to tease.

Yesterday's magic took place as Rigondeaux stopped his entourage, all in matching TEAM RIGONDEAUX tracksuits, at a little hotdog stand next to the Garden. He ordered a hotdog and a coke with what liked like a $10 bill that he didn't ask change for, wolfed them down, and charged back to his hotel room. Not a big deal, but it was, too.

It was that little slice of America that also reminded me a great deal of first meeting him in Havana munching on a little funnel of peanuts he bought off the street there. On a human level, Havana and New York have a lot of overlap at certain moments that have always charmed me.

Now we see where this story takes a considerable turn, probably one that defines Rigondeaux's journey nearly much as anything else for most people. While it's easy enough to confess I'm tense and excited over what will take place tonight, I can't say this fight defines him for me as much as what it took him to get to the US.

El Duque was once asked about being nervous pitching at Yankee Stadium on his way to winning the world series on one of the most dominant teams ever assembled in 1998. He shrugged, "It's nothing compared to pitching in Havana at Latino Americano."

I have a sneaking feeling, having spent many many hours at Kid Chocolate watching 100's of fights, Rigondeaux might feel, though probably not admit, the same thing in his case with Radio City Music Hall.

This part always creeps me out where a life amounts to a pair of dice jangling inside a fist and the toss. The beauty and the tragedy of this one, he's pushed every chip he could to let it ride on the verdict...