Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
On Saturday, July 19, 2014, Guillermo Rigondeaux took care of Sod Kokietgym in swift fashion.
Many people—both boxing fanatics and pundits alike—have crucified Rigondeaux for his “boring” style in the past. Perhaps in an effort to quiet those same critics, Rigondeaux came out looking to make a statement and did so by knocking out his over-matched Thai opponent in one round.
Rigondeaux has won nine of his 14 fights by knockout, so it’s not that he doesn’t have the power to provide some exciting knockout performances. The problem for the Cuban slickster is that he hasn’t put the pedal to the metal in his most high-profile opportunities.
It’s one thing to score knockouts against Juan Noriega and Robert Guillen when nearly no one is watching, but it’s another thing to carry Joseph Agbeko for 12 rounds in an HBO headline fight.
Agbeko is no a slouch, but against Rigondeaux he looked like he was in his first professional bout—landing an average of just four punches per round and never reaching double digits in any round.
Rigondeaux is that good.
But when you make a guy miss so bad, and you’re landing more than triple his punches, you have to be able to take him out or at least score a knockdown. People want to see that, and they pay to see that.
In short, Rigondeaux has to be—like his nickname “The Jackal” suggests—an opportunistic predator.
At the end of the day, boxers need a fan base that will pay to see them, not a legion of keyboard warriors who claim no one knows “sh*t about boxing” because they don’t appreciate an old school boxing lesson.
For all the fans who vigorously state that they love to see pure boxers work their craft and cruise to a 12-round decision victory, how many actually purchase tickets to fights?
How many people bought a ticket to see Rigo put a boxing clinic on against Agbeko? How many people even stayed tuned in to HBO while Showtime had their own fights going on? Not many.
In fact, most people in attendance that night were likely there to see local fighter Glen Tapia take on James Kirkland.
One thing is for certain, if Rigondeaux scores more knockouts—whether controversial or not—people will talk about him more and want to see him against the top rated fighters of the 122 and 126 pound divisions–even if those opponents aren’t too eager to take on Rigo.
Which brings us to the crux of this article. Who should Rigondeaux face next?
Read on for five potential opponents Rigondeaux should consider facing next.
Leave a comment and let us know who you think Guillermo Rigondeaux should face next.
Header photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
