Photo courtesy of Gary Hyde via Facebook
A tremendous year of boxing finally culminates on the last day of 2014 , when the under appreciated, but uber talented Super Bantamweight supremo Guillermo Rigondeaux takes on possibly the only fighter in the world willing to face him, Hisashi Amagasa.
The fight will take place at the Bodymaker Colosseum, in Amagasa’s hometown of Japan.
The brave Japanese pugilist has his sights firmly set on a monumental New Years Eve scalp against the enigma that is Rigondeaux, who in turn will be desperate to impress as he searches for recognition from the boxing public.
However, could a devastating display in Tokyo drag “El Chacal” deeper into the boxing depths leaving the highly decorated Super Bantamweight with no opposition aspiring to face him?
The Cuban defector is without doubt one of the most talented tacticians in the game, up there with Floyd Mayweather as a true master craftsman. So it still comes as somewhat of a surprise that the reigning WBA Super and WBO 122 pound champion has found it incredibly difficult to establish himself in the paid ranks after such a stellar amateur career, leaving the former Olympic champion in the unforgiving no man’s land of unwanted fighters.
Needless to say, a fighter of Rigondeaux’s caliber should be celebrated within the sport, not hidden away on a bill in Tokyo on New Years Eve when he has the potential to be much, much more. Nevertheless, a victory for Rigo in Japan should keep his hopes of a unification matchup alive, but can Amagasa write his own script, using his superior height advantage to expose the seemingly untouchable champion?
The 29-year-old Tokyo native is currently on a 13-fight winning streak and holds a considerable height advantage over the Cuban of almost 7 inches. Amagasa also has a substantial difference in reach of three inches, which could definitely be beneficial for the hometown fighter if he knows how to use it. Bearing that in mind, does the relatively unknown challenger have more of a chance than first imagined?
Well, kudos to Amagasa for taking such a fight, however due to his lack of elite level experience and opposition, it is inevitable that El Chacal will cruise to another routine victory.
A victory for Rigondeaux will further his dominance at the pinnacle of the Super Bantamweight division and lead him him back to begging the other 122-pound champions to take a fight with him. Rigondeaux will be praying that 2015 will be a new progressive chapter in his career, finally securing those lucrative fights with Leo Santa Cruz, Carl Frampton, Scott Quigg and even Vasyl Lomachenko, which are fights he has unquestionably earned.
On the other hand, if the Cuban puts on a faultless master class against Amagasa, which he is very capable of doing, then the aforementioned fights could become even more unrealistic as the remaining Super Bantamweight champions will see no benefit in taking such a huge gamble, resulting in another year of frustration for one of boxing’s pound-for-pound best.
There is a reason why no one wants to face this boxing disciple, Guillermo Rigondeaux has a supersonic skillset which is utterly flawless, therefore many fighters will not take that gigantic risk which Rigondeaux possesses, making the supremely skilled Cuban undeniably just too good for his own good.
Rigondeaux Training
