Has Guillermo Rigondeaux found a new home? Rigondeaux went to Japan and took on Hisashi Amagasa and in exciting fashion bludgeoned Amagasa’s face en route to a TKO victory. However, he was vulnerable twice as he was dropped twice by the taller and rangier fighter who did not come to lose.
The fight was what most Rigondeaux fights aren’t, exciting and according to Team Rigondeaux, it was a hit in Japan as more than 30 million people watched his bout on TBS.
Rigondeaux who has long turned down fans in the States and promoters may have found a new home. Now how willing Rigondeaux is up for fighting in Japan again is another story. Most of the good junior featherweights are in the United States or in England so more likely than not they’re not willing to travel to Japan if they were interested in fighting Rigondeaux anyway.
Rigondeaux who has turned down offers from Roc Nation and Frank Warren is still with Caribe Promotions who many in the industry feel are hard to work with. Rigondeaux is loyal to Caribe and did not want to sign with any other promoter without them as co-promoters.
So is there a significant fight for Rigondeaux? With Leo Santa Cruz backing away from his talk of fighting Rigondeaux and with the UK 122 pounders, Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg not needed to fight Rigondeaux just yet because a fight with each other is much bigger; Rigondeaux’s best fights might be at 126.
Top Rank controls the 126 pound division and are Rigondeaux’s former promoter so the willingness to work with each other might not be there. So while his marquee fight might be uncertain, it seems like he may have found a home away from home in Japan. If he fights like he did in Japan and looks vulnerable in instances, maybe his options will open up a bit more because the fight was exciting and it gives opponents hope that if you do land, he may go down. But then again he is a master technician, so the chances are few and far between but maybe Japan is a place Rigondeaux can set up shop, for now.
