Guillermo Rigondeaux: record, next fight and profile →
Guillermo Rigondeaux’s hand wasn’t broken Saturday night. According to multiple reports, promoter Dino Duva confirmed Tuesday that Rigondeaux suffered a bruise to his left hand, not a fracture, before declining to continue beyond the sixth round against Vasyl Lomachenko in their 130-pound title fight in The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Duva works for Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports, which co-promotes Rigondeaux.
The ESPN broadcast headlined by the Vasyl Lomachenko-Guillermo Rigondeaux fight Saturday night drew the second-highest audience for boxing on basic cable television since 2012. The 154-minute broadcast, which included four fights, was watched by an average of 1.73 million viewers, according to ratings released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research.
WBO super featherweight world champion Vasyl Lomachenko, following his dominant performance over Guillermo Rigondeaux, (who landed just 8.4% of his total punches) takes over #1 spot as best defender (from Rigo). Rigodenaux didn't land more than 3 punches in any round and landed just 15 punches in six rounds (CompuBox avg.: 30.3%).
It was a rather abrupt and surprising end to the bout between WBO super featherweight champion, Vasyl Lomachenko (10-1, 8 KOs), and Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-1, 11 KOs). While the Ukrainian was dominating the action after six rounds he wasn't putting a beating on Rigondeaux, who had moved up two weight classes for this fight.
Boxing manager Gary Hyde was shaking his head on Saturday night, after WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux quit on his stool after six completed rounds in his highly anticipated fight with WBO super featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko at The Theater in Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was the first time in boxing history two, two-time Olympic gold medal winners were matched up in the ring.
Vasyl Lomachenko: I don’t care that Lomachenko was bigger than Guillermo Rigondeaux on Saturday night in New York. I don’t care that Rigondeaux is 37. And I certainly don’t care whether Rigondeaux injured his left hand, his stated reason for quitting. The fact that Lomachenko did THAT to a fighter of Rigondeaux’s unquestioned ability was amazing.
Mandalay Bay, LAS VEGAS, NV - BoxingScene.com and a small group of reporters caught up with the recently retired Andre Ward after he finished his HBO broadcast duties for the Orlando Salido-Mickey Roman fight. One of the topics discussed was Vasyl Lomachenko's dominant stoppage victory over Guillermo Rigondeaux in New York.
While unsatisfying, it might have been the most fitting end. Guillermo Rigondeaux fought in the way that worked best for him over the years. Even as some of his fights, night like Joseph Agbeko and Drian Francisco, drove fans mad with their inaction, he won and moved on. He was a fighter who refused to adjust his style to expand his fan base, no matter the calls to do so.
WBO super featherweight world champion Vasyl Lomachenko was described as "superhuman" by his promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, after his dominant win over previously undefeated Guillermo Rigondeaux, but the Ukrainian insisted it was not a big success for him. Lomachenko prevailed in New York on Saturday night after Cuban Rigondeaux retired in the sixth round with a hand injury, suffering his first defeat as a professional having been on a wrong end of a one-sided contest.
NEW YORK – Vasyl Lomachenko wouldn’t have stopped fighting if he was the one that suffered a hand injury Saturday night. Lomachenko didn’t go as far as to say he believes Guillermo Rigondeaux faked his left hand injury to get out of their fight. He did question Rigondeaux’s decision to stop fighting following the sixth round of their WBO super featherweight championship match in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.