By Jake Donovan
From the moment the announcement dropped of World super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux next facing James “Jazza” Dickens – the immediate reaction came in the form of a one-word question: Why?
At age 35 and anxious to stay more active than has been the case really since turning pro nearly seven years ago, Rigondeaux answers the question with one of his own:
Why not?
The upcoming clash with Dickens (21-1, 6KOs) marks his third time fighting abroad in his past four fights, with the bout taking place March 12 at the Echo Arena in Dickens’ hometown of Liverpool, England. The lone stateside appearance for the Cuban southpaw now based out of Miami came in his most recent fight, a 10-round win over Drian Francisco last November.
The fight was taken on short notice, as means to return to the ring following an 11-month hiatus due to a combination of the unwillingness of his divisional peers accepting such an assignment and the lack of interest among America television networks.
While the matchup itself is perhaps not befitting a fighter of Rigondeaux’ ilk, it’s a chance to remain more active than has been the case in recent years.
“I’m a warrior, I’ll fight anywhere. If they tell me I have to fight in my opponent’s backyard, I’ll go there, too,” Rigondeaux (16-0, 10KOs) insisted during a recent media conference call. “If this kid has the guts to step into the ring (with me), I respect him for doing so. I’ll fight anywhere and I know there are great fans in the United Kingdom.”
Rigondeaux earned two Olympic Gold medals – in 2004 and 2008 – in highlighting one of the greatest careers in amateur boxing history before turning pro in 2009. From there, he was fast-tracked to a title, claiming an interim belt in just his 7th pro fight – outpointing Ricardo Cordoba in Nov. ’10 - and then the full version just two fights later with a 6th round knockout of Rico Ramos in Jan. ’12.
His best win to date came in the form of a 12-round nod over Nonito Donaire in their April ’13 World super bantamweight championship showdown in New York City. Donaire had just accepted honors as Boxing Writers Association of America 2012 Fighter of the Year at its annual banquet two nights prior, but was made to look foolish for most of the night versus Rigondeaux.
The majority of viewers – including ringside media – begrudgingly acknowledged his skill set while claiming him to be a runner whose style was unfit for television. The message was received by network executives, as Rigondeaux was benched for eight months before returning in Dec. ’13 in a horrible style matchup with faded former bantamweight titlist Joseph Agbeko, who refused to engage at any point in their 12-round HBO-televised stinker.
Rigondeaux has been forced to fend for himself ever since. Knockout wins in China (July ’14) and Japan (Dec. ’14) was followed by a return to the states as a late addition to the Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez vs. Miguel Cotto HBO Pay-Per-View event last November. Rigondeaux had just signed with Roc Nation Sports, and agreed to a fight with Drian Francisco on just two weeks’ notice.
A landslide victory came of the night, though one where Rigondeaux fought to win rather than to impress. His finesse style coupled with 11 months inactive period coupled and accepting the fight on short notice was never going to add up to a fun night at the office, but he hopes to change that by remaining active.
With that came the decision to fight on the road for the third time in his past four starts – and perhaps a streak that continues after March should the stars properly align.
By the time his fight rolls around, Rigondeaux will have the benefit of knowing his next ring assignment, assuming proper cooperation comes with the highly anticipated title unification clash between Scott Quigg and Carl Frampton later this month.
The winner will have two mandatory challengers awaiting them, Rigondeaux being one of them as he is “WBA Champion in Recess” while Quigg puts his WBA “super” title on the line versus Frampton’s IBF strap, which comes with an owed fight to Japan’s Shingo Wake.
Quigg and Frampton both acknowledge the unbeaten Cuban as the challenge next preferred for whoever comes out ahead in their February 27 clash in Manchester, England.
If Rigondeaux has his way, then both can get theirs at separate points this year.
“I’m going there to win (versus) Dickens, and then I will beat both Frampton AND Quigg,” Rigondeaux insists. “I would love to fight for the titles in England.”
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
