HBO Sports President Talks Rigondeaux

[CubanGuyNYC]

He just needs the right dance partner.

A fight against lomachenko would be perfect with zou shimming on the undercard in Macau.

Failing that he can move up for Mikey garcia or Gamboa.

But this is America baby, if you want to fight on HBO and "me speak no English", then you better get used to being the B-side in any future promotion if you do headline.

Rigo will almost certainly never fight at 130, at least not anywhere near his prime. He refuses to fight even at 126. But, yeah, he needs to learn some English quick.

[HeroBando]

For as much as people talk about Rigo's style being "boring," perhaps the greatest single hurdle to his popularity is his size. These little guys get no love to begin with. If they happen to have an unpopular style, forget it. If Guillermo was at least a welterweight, he would command more interest. The fact that we're talking about him so much is an indication that "El Chacal" is perhaps more interesting than we now realize.

i wouldn't draw any conclusions about popularity from NSB threads. But no doubt, size might be his #1 problem (among several). If he was a JWW or JMW or whatever, he'd be impossible to ignore (unless cruiser lol). But little guys get no money or exposure, especially below feather. I can't think of 1 subfeather fight on HBO from Pac Ledwaba to Donaire crossing over from Showtime. That's almost 10 years! They only started featuring Donaire when was very well established, long time p4p moving up to his 3rd division.

[Cuban Linx]

Can't agree with you on the bold, bro. Rigo's worth what the market says he's worth. It's no secret that I think Rigo's an amazing fighter, but most of the boxing world doesn't want to watch him fight. That makes his current value very low, unfortunately.

You're otherwise right about Guille's situation. He's tough to put on an undercard because of the purse he demands, but he can't really headline a show. He's in a bad promotional situation, which is why he's the source of so much debate.

I meant to say that Rigo, and his manager, think he's worth more than $50- 100K, that's why he won't just take a big pay cut to fight on undercards.

But like you said, he's going to be difficult to put as a main event unless they get him a big name opponent. So he's in a bad situation.

[Canelo Phresh]

As sports fans were the worst.

[CubanGuyNYC]

i wouldn't draw any conclusions about popularity from NSB threads. But no doubt, size might be his #1 problem (among several). If he was a JWW or JMW or whatever, he'd be impossible to ignore (unless cruiser lol). But little guys get no money or exposure, especially below feather. I can't think of 1 subfeather fight on HBO from Pac Ledwaba to Donaire crossing over from Showtime. That's almost 10 years! They only started featuring Donaire when was very well established, long time p4p moving up to his 3rd division.

I don't put that much stock in NSB, since many here are fairly hardcore, but I think NSB offers a little light on the pulse of boxing. I scan all the thread titles here, as we all do, and I notice that very few fighters get many replies on their threads. Rigo was once one of those guys. He now gets much more attention. I think casual fans are (or were) beginning to look at him. It might all be out the window now, after Agbeko, but Guillermo was probably getting more name recognition than almost any other 122 lb fighter, for whatever that's worth.

[bojangles1987]

For as much as people talk about Rigo's style being "boring," perhaps the greatest single hurdle to his popularity is his size. These little guys get no love to begin with. If they happen to have an unpopular style, forget it. If Guillermo was at least a welterweight, he would command more interest. But the fact that we're talking about him so much is an indication that "El Chacal" is perhaps more interesting than we now realize.

It's definitely size more than anything else. Ward and Floyd are "boring" but they don't have the problems selling that Rigo does. They are at weights people care about, though.

He wouldn't be a star at welterweight if everything in his fights are the same, but he isn't having such trouble selling fights that HBO doesn't want him on their network at all if he's at 147.

[CubanGuyNYC]

I meant to say that Rigo, and his manager, think he's worth more than $50- 100K, that's why he won't just take a big pay cut to fight on undercards.

But like you said, he's going to be difficult to put as a main event unless they get him a big name opponent. So he's in a bad situation.

Gotcha.

Rigo is very proud of his accomplishments, and understandably so. But he seems to be under the mistaken notion that his boxing greatness is supposed to be rewarded for its own sake. I don't know what Hyde's thinking. They're at a crossroads already. There's nothing like a Donaire fight in the foreseeable future, and a bridge was burned with Agbeko. They're going to have to decide what path they want to take real quick. You can't create money out of thin air. There has to be demand.

[CubanGuyNYC]

It's definitely size more than anything else. Ward and Floyd are "boring" but they don't have the problems selling that Rigo does. They are at weights people care about, though.

He wouldn't be a star at welterweight if everything in his fights are the same, but he isn't having such trouble selling fights that HBO doesn't want him on their network at all if he's at 147.

Totally agree.

[SAN D13GO VILLAN]

Rigo needs some Mexicans in his life ASAP, the situation is ****ed up but he takes over defensive to another level, he needs to take more risk and be more fan freindly.

[FromBA]

Not necessarily so. Many masters of their craft, from different fields, were unappreciated in their time. Van Gogh was the proverbial starving artist; but his work now commands millions, although Vincent died long ago. Muhammad Ali is revered today, but his "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" style (along with his trash-talk) earned him a lot of scorn back in the day.

I believe Rigo has the ability to turn it up a notch. I've seen him do it. But he'll never stray far from his natural tendencies. He's done it for too long, and it's won him everything he has. Whether he decides to adjust or not, I believe Guillermo will one day be appreciated much more than he is now. History tends to repeat itself.

I agree with you on this point, but Rigo needs to be appreciated right now. As for Muhammad Ali, I watched him when I was a kid and he was regarded as an astounding fighter.