:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55591751/697080386.0.jpg)
Moises Flores will be given a mulligan in his title fight with Guillermo Rigondeaux following their June 17th debacle. At the end of the first round both fighters would exchange punches, with Rigondeaux landing a left hand after the bell had rung that dropped and stopped Flores.
The referee, Vic Drakulich, appeared to be completely lost in the action, and even after a review on tape he managed to bungle the call by ruling the fight a legitimate knockout win for Rigondeaux. Of course, only about a week later the Nevada State Athletic Commission reviewed the bout and unanimously overturned the ruling, making it a no contest.
ESPN reports that the WBA has now officially ordered an immediate rematch between the two fighters — a move that had been anticipated by most. The WBA wrote in a letter on the decision that "the report confirmed Rigondeaux's knockout punch landed after the sound of the bell, thus it is a breach [of] boxing rules...The use of the instant replay was not done convincingly in order to avoid the controversy at the end of this bout. We suggest reviewing the WBA protocol for the use of the instant replay. Despite the reversed decision, medical safety shall be considered since Flores was actually knocked out."
The commission currently has Flores on a 60-day medical suspension as a result of being knocked out but has ordered that the rematch take place within 150 days of the first fight, which would mean sometime before mid-November.
Rigondeaux, though, doesn’t appear to be too keen on facing Flores again, taking to social media to post this message:
If they think they can shut me down by forcing me into fighting again they got something else coming. I will keep calling out d
— Guillermo Rigondeaux (@RigoElChacal305) July 5, 2017
Now I’m not 100% sure on the cow reference (Rigo might’ve gotten his emoji’s mixed up) but I am sure that it’s an allusion to Vasyl Lomachenko, who Rigondeaux has been calling out relentlessly over the last month or so. In fact, Rigo’s social media has effectively transformed into a full-time Lomachenko troll page. Rigondeaux recently offered to move up to 130lbs in an effort to force Lomachenko’s hand, but he was mostly ignored as Lomachenko was lined-up to take on Miguel Marriaga next month.
So whether or not Rigo, or fans, want to see another fight with Flores, it looks like that’ll be coming down the pipe anyway.