Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
In the second fight of HBO’s pay-per-view telecast of Cotto-Canelo, Lineal Super Bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (16-0, 10 KOs) scored a shutout UD victory against Drian Francisco (28-4-1, 22 KOs) at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Rigondeaux, a 35-year-old native of Cuba, took the fight on two weeks’ notice after Andre Ward suffered an injury that prevented him from fighting on the Cotto-Canelo undercard. Francisco was the best opponent they could find with such short notice, and he was no match for Rigondeaux.
“I feel terrific after the fight,” said Guillermo Rigondeaux.
“He threw heavy but his style has nothing on mine. My style outmatched his. It’s been 11 months since I’ve been in the ring and I definitely felt some cobwebs, but I’d like to see some other fighters be out 11 months and come back with a win,” said Rigondeaux.
“I definitely wanted to give the fans a better fight so I need to get back in to the gym, get more active to give a better performance,” said Rigondeaux, who outclassed Francisco by barely throwing a punch in each round.
Indeed, it was only until Round 10 that the two could finally land a combined 100 punches. Francisco was unhappy with his win and Rigondeaux’s style.
“Rigondeaux is not a fighter, he is a runner,” said Francisco.
“He is afraid of getting hurt and doesn’t want to fight. I felt pressured into being the aggressor during this fight because he wasn’t fighting, he was running away,” said Francisco.
“I trained really hard for this fight and I feel like it was a waste of time because I didn’t encounter a fighter tonight,” said Francisco. Rigondeaux won with scores of 100-90, 100-90 and 97-93.
