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WBA junior featherweight titlist Guillermo Rigondeaux is probably one of the very best technicians in the world, but the world at large will never know it considering his current career trajectory. Rigondeaux is known in boxing circles to be heavily avoided wherever possible — and that’s mostly because he’s a huge threat that brings no money to the negotiating table.
In spite of that, Rigondeaux has managed to become a world titleholder, but big money fights continue to escape him. He’s currently scheduled to appear on the Ward-Kovalev II undercard, defending his WBA title against Moises Flores, but during a recent media workout in Miami Rigodeaux vented some of his frustrations while promoting his upcoming fight.
"I have been constantly avoided by all the fighters in my division. I am the best in the world at 122 pounds and one of the top pound-for-pound fighters. I can't wait to show the world that I am still the best. I thank Flores for having the courage to get in the ring with me unlike many top contenders that have avoided the challenge. Tune in June 17 to watch two fighters bring all that they have to the ring. It's going to be an exciting co-main event on this year's biggest boxing card.”
The fact is though, “exciting” is a world that’s seldom used to describe Rigondeaux’s fights. He actually has a pretty well-deserved reputation for being a snoozer. Yet whenever he seems to get another shot to prove the critics wrong, showing that he can be both effective and entertaining to paying customers, he falls way short on the latter.
That has made it much easier for top names around the division to continue skirt him without receiving major backlash from fans, as Rigodeaux isn’t exactly in high demand to be seen. And in that respect it appears that Rigondeaux has failed to make the transition from an acclaimed amateur boxer to an attractive professional prizefighter.
"I've had everyone in my division run away from any mentions of me in the ring with them. My team is first focused on the Flores fight, and we're ready to come and fight the best names in my division so that we can give the fans what they pay big Pay-Per-View money for, big exciting fights.”
At age 36, however, one can reasonably wonder whether Rigodeaux will ever be apart of big exciting fights going forward, especially in a pay-per-view capacity. There’s no question about his skill level, but professional prizefighting demands more than that alone.