Guillermo Rigondeaux vs Joan Guzman @ Super Bantamweight

Goes both ways. It's undeniable fact that guys like Leo Santa Cruz and Carl Frampton swerved Rigondeaux due to being high risk and low reward. But Rigo did himself no favors by constantly putting on awful fights while the other top fighters also were able to build an excuse by claiming that he has nothing to offer or that he doesn't make for a great fight. Promoters were also sick of Rigo's BS as well. Had Rigo consistently put on great performances and scored KOs that made fans wanting to see him fight and Top Rank wanting to keep working with him there's no doubt that Rigo could have generated more money and perhaps give other top guys a reason to fight him because they would also have a high reward by fighting him.

 

Gomez was levels above Rigo.

 

The problem was that Top Rank constantly gave Rigo chances to stick around but he still refused to put on a show. There's nothing wrong with fighting a defensive style and schooling opponents if you're facing top level competition but when it's against overmatched opponents where he could have easily dispatched them instead of fighting the same BS safety first style and making it a chore to watch that's a big issue. As far as American fighters goes you have the trash talking charismatic personalities where they were able to get away with not being exciting. Rigo on the other hand has a personality of a dishwasher. He just doesn't generate much interest personality wise and ent outside of pure boxing connoisseurs.

 

Excuses. Again, it goes both ways. Rigo is at much fault for not being able to fight the top guys as those guys dodging him. The way his career turned out is all on him at the end of the day. And unfortunately for him he'll be widely remembered as a wasted potential who had one great night but also being a quitter.

 

Did Rigo abandon his style when he fought aggressive and let his hands go against Teon Kennedy and Willie Casey? Or what about when he fought Amagasa and Ceja where he actually showed some grit? I'll give you Ceja since he actually stood toe to toe that's uncharacteristic of him. But again why be risk averse against lower tier fighters? He can be untouchable while still being a joy to watch as well with that defense and jaw breaking power. I don't mind him putting on Donaire-esque performances but he really dropped the ball on how he handled himself.

When it comes to marketability the language barrier does limit him from having a big following but the promoters can only do so much to attract a wider audience for a guy with Rigo's style and personality. I'm saying this as someone who had high hopes for Rigo when I first saw his career take off and looked promising at first. It really frustrates me how Rigo can look sensational one fight but then look like absolute crap more often.

 

Fighters who were historically known to be avoided, or at the very least claim to be. Guys like Mike McCallum, Gennady Golovkin, Winky Wright, Sonny Liston, Sam Langford, Charley Burley and the other Murderer's Row fighters. Not to mention Lennox Lewis being avoided like the plague by Bowe. Those guys at least managed to make the most of what they got when they couldn't get the fights they wanted. Some of them were able to get the fights that they were pursuing while the other avoided fighters still had other meaningful fights on their resume without latching on to just one big win.