Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev 2

Guillermo Rigondeaux Scores Disputed Knockout Over Moises Flores

Superbly talented Cuban Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux (17-0, 11KOs) stepped in to the ring for the first time in almost a year tonight to face fellow undefeated Moises “Chucky” Flores (25-0, 17 KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico.

Photo by Ed Mulholland/HBO

Superbly talented Cuban, Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs) stepped in to the ring for the first time in almost a year tonight to face fellow undefeated fighter, Moises “Chucky” Flores (25-0, 17 KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico.

The bout featured each fighter as both challenger and champion as 36-year-old Rigondeaux eyed Flores’ IBO Super Bantamweight strap and Flores’ in turn attempted to use his 10-year advantage in youth to usurp the Cuban’s WBA Super Bantamweight hardware.

The fight began with Flores trying to impose his five inch height advantage, throwing heavy punches and screaming with each attempted blow.

Rigondeaux glided around weightlessly and slipped each punch effortlessly, though countering infrequently.

The action came to a head in the last five seconds of the as both fighters flurried. The action continued for a split second after the bell and Rigondeaux landed a crushing left hook that saw the Mexican’s head snap back and he crumpled to the canvas.

The fight was clearly over and the referee was left with the job of determining if would be ruled a disqualification, no-contest or a knockout.

After conferring with numerous other officials and reviewing the replay a number of times the ultimate determination was that both fighters were mutually engaging at the time and it was a legal blow.

The result: Rigondeaux  KO1 Flores.

“The Mexican was a brave kid. I commend him for getting in the ring with me. He has more guts than a lot of these other guys,” said Rigondeaux after the bout.

In the aftermath of the fight however, the final result may not be written in stone.

The head of the Las Vegas Boxing Commission spoke at length with Jim Lampley and Max Kellerman and they discussed the result further. The commissioner had not heard the bell and possibly had some miscommunication with those handling the replay.

He said that this will be further reviewed and if it is determined that the blow was delivered after the bell (which was easy to determine in TV land) that the result will be reversed and Flores will be declared the winner by disqualification.

“We both threw combinations at the same time at the end of the first round. But mine was quicker and more accurate. It was only a matter of time,” said Rigondeaux.

Very interesting, stay tuned…

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