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Guillermo Rigondeaux ordered to face mandatory challenger next

Guillermo Rigondeaux will have to defend his WBA title against Moises Flores.

Julian Herbert/Getty Images

The WBA has officially ordered Guillermo Rigondeaux to defend his super bantamweight title against mandatory challenger and interim titleholder Moises Flores, meaning a fight between Rigondeaux and an actual contender could be coming for the first time since 2013.

Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KO) has seen his career stuck in neutral since he beat Nonito Donaire in 2013, getting one more HBO fight against Joseph Agbeko that year, and he hasn't been back since, save for an appearance last year on the Canelo-Cotto pay-per-view undercard, where he was a late replacement for Andre Ward.

Since beating Agbeko, Rigondeaux, 35, has beaten Sod Kokietgym (KO-1), Hisashi Amagasa (RTD-11), Drian Francisco (UD-10), and this past weekend, Jazza Dickens (RTD-2), where he broke his opponent's jaw in the second round.

Flores (25-0, 17 KO) is a 29-year-old Mexican fighter who has held the interim WBA title since last year, beating Oscar Escandon (SD-12), Luis Emanuel Cusolito (TKO-12), and Paulus Ambunda (UD-12), that fight coming on June 11 in Namibia. He won't be considered a serious threat to Rigondeaux, really, but he is a top 10, maybe top five fighter in the division, so it's better than what Rigondeaux has been facing, at least.

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