By Luke Furman

Guillermo Rigondeaux's manager, Gary Hyde, is furious over the recent development involving WBC super bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz.

Hyde and Rigondeaux's promoter, Caribe Promotions, were on board to stake the Cuban's WBA/WBO title in a unification with Santa Cruz. Even Santa Cruz's promoter, Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, told BoxingScene.com two weeks ago that a Santa Cruz-Rigondeaux unification was at the top of his agenda.

Rigondeaux and his team erupted after being informed that Santa Cruz's contract was purchased from Golden Boy by the boxer's manager, Al Haymon.

Last month, Golden Boy and Haymon parted ways after a long working relationship. The influential manager walked away with nearly every fighter he had under contract. Santa Cruz, who still had a valid contract with Golden Boy, was one of the few fighters who remained.

In the opinion of Hyde, Santa Cruz was willingly pulled away from his promotional ties in order to completely crush De La Hoya's plan to put him in the ring with Rigondeaux.

"The WBC should strip Leo Santa Cruz of the WBC title for making a mockery of their organization. Santa Cruz is a coward for not accepting the Rigondeaux unification fight. He has ran for cover to Al Haymon because he knows he will be protected from a Rigondeaux massacre. Santa Cruz is gutless and should not be allowed to defend against another unknown challenger. Rigondeaux and Frampton are the only genuine world champions," an angry Hyde stated

Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org.