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
Leo Santa Cruz
Photo by Naoki Fukada
This would be a fight fans dream come true. A classic matchup of a come-forward Mexican warrior against a slick Cuban boxing master.
Leo Santa Cruz (27-0-1, 15 KOs) is a non-stop action fighter who would certainly bring the fight to Guillermo Rigondeaux.
Rigondeaux has been down in the past, so you have to to wonder if Santa Cruz would be disciplined enough to cut off the ring and if his relentless aggression and punches-in-bunches would be able to catch “El Chacal?”
Many folks thought Nonito Donaire and Joseph Agbeko would push Rigo with smart aggression, but Rigo was never out of his comfort zone en-route to decision victories in both of those fights.
It’s obviously difficult to hit someone when they’re not standing directly in front of you—as evidenced by Rigondeaux’s CompuBox wizardry, which states that his last six opponents before Sod Kokietgym had landed a measly 16 percent of their total punches, which is tops among all active champions.
Santa Cruz lands an average of 36 punches per round while Rigondeaux’s opponents land an average of five punches per round (per ESPN).
After digesting all of those stats, it’s easy to see that if and when these two men tangle, something’s gotta give.
Vasyl Lomachenko
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Looking for a good storyline?
How about two of the most successful Olympic boxers of all time facing each other for a title?
Vasyl Lomachenko is the bigger man and holds the WBO title at 126 pounds, so perhaps a catch weight would have to be discussed, but this matchup is certainly realistic and could still be fought for the title at say, 124 pounds.
Lomachenko showed the ability to effectively walk down a good boxer in Gary Russell Jr. in his last fight, but the almighty Guillermo Rigondeaux is a completely different monster.
Rigo can crack at 122 pounds, and while it remains to be seen whether or not that power would follow him up in weight, it’s safe to say Rigondeaux’s accuracy and elusiveness would still be troublesome for Lomachenko.
Would the Bob Father allow another one of his prized champions to face Rigondeaux?
After the Nonito Donaire fiasco, Arum might not be too happy about this matchup.
Abner Mares
Photo by Tom Hogan/Hogan Photos
After being knocked out in highlight-reel fashion by Jhonny Gonzalez in 2013, Abner Mares made a somewhat successful comeback in his last bout against Jonathan Oquendo.
I say somewhat because although he won, he was not the same guy that took on Joseph Agbeko and Daniel Ponce de Leon.
Sure, Mares’ new trainer Virgil Hunter is making him more a box-first guy, but you get the feeling that the minute someone cracks Mares with a good shot, all of the new boxing tools he’s learned will go out the window.
A fight between Mares and Guillermo Rigondeaux could certainly provide some fireworks if Mares enters the fight acknowledging that he can’t outbox the Cuban.
He would have to apply pressure, cut the ring off and have a high work rate.
Having said all that, this fight could also have the potential of being Rigondeaux vs. Nonito Donaire 2.
But at the end of the day, if Rigondeaux decides to move up in weight, this would be a dangerous and exciting entry into the 126-pound division.
The Winner of Carl Frampton vs. Kiko Martinez
Photo by Lawrence Lustig
Let’s call this a two-for-one inclusion.
Kiko Martinez is the IBF Super Bantamweight Champion and is set to defend that crown against Carl Frampton in September.
Frampton has bested Martinez once in 2012, before Kiko was champion, so their rematch has a ton of intrigue.
Guillermo Rigondeaux has called Frampton and Martinez out already and is eager to unify the titles, which is why it only makes sense for Rigo to want to face the winner.
Frampton—who is also known as The Jackal—has a large fan base in the UK and should he win, a battle of the Jackal’s could be a huge unification bout in Frampton’s native Belfast, though Rigondeaux’s manager Gary Hyde has said it likely won’t happen.
Should Martinez defend his title successfully, Rigondeaux would have another chance to befuddle another come-forward fighter. Who wouldn’t want to see the same relentless Martinez from his title-winning bout against Jhonatan Romero try to break Rigo down?
Regardless of if you’re a fan of Rigondeaux’s or not, you have to love his competitiveness and outspokenness regarding potential matchups with fellow 122-pound champions Leo Santa Cruz and Martinez—via The Telegraph UK:
“I am frustrated that the two other champions in my division – Leo Santa Cruz and Kiko Martinez – will not step up to fight me in title unifications to determine the true world champion. I do not understand that mindset.” -Guillermo Rigondeaux
Nonito Donaire
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Guillermo Rigondeaux mopped the floor with Nonito Donaire in their first bout and the way that the not-so-flashy Filipino has looked as of late, I’d bet that the rematch would be even worse.
Given the fact that Donaire now owns some hardware at 126 pounds—with his wacky victory over Simpiwe Vetyeka–Rigondeaux could jump up and earn a title in his first fight at Featherweight.
Donaire should do some serious soul searching and really ask himself if he wants to put himself through another boxing clinic. Something tells me his competitive spirit may be clouding his better judgement.
If Rigo moves up to 126 pounds and defeats Donaire, the possibility of unifying titles with Evgeny Gradovich or Jhonny Gonzalez would be enticing as well.
One thing is for certain, Rigo wants to clean up at Super Bantamweight before leaving, but if the other major players in that division aren’t willing to mix it up, he may be finding a new division sooner than later.
