Guillermo Rigondeux News: Former world champion wins but gets booed for being 'boring', 'El Chacal' promises to be 'explosive' for next fight
After almost a year out of action, which eventually led to the stripping of his WBO super-bantamweight title, Cuban boxing sensation Guillermo Rigondeaux was back in the ring recently.
"El Chacal" was made part of the undercard of the "Mexico vs. Puerto Rico" super fight between middleweights Miguel Cotto and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, where he was slated to face Filipino boxer Drian Francisco.
Rigondeaux did end up winning via a wide unanimous decision verdict, with a tally of 100-90, 100-90, and 97-93. It was, however, met with a resounding boo from the crowd in attendance at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
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In a report by Boxingscene, the people watching at the venue were treated with a slow paced fight all through out ten rounds of action.
"Rigondeaux was content with jabbing, moving and clinching his way to victory, taking advantage of his opponent's lack of skill level," reporter Jake Donovan wrote.
Reactions online were not as pleasing either, and to make matters worse, they came from some of the sport's most notable figures.
"Thank goodness this #Rigo fight is not a 12-rounder. I'd hurt myself. #boxing," ESPN's boxing columnist Dan Rafael tweeted during the actual fight.
"I would rather watch paint dry than Rigo. And, yes, he's very good. So what!," veteran boxing promoter Lou DiBella also tweeted.
For his part, Rigondeaux feels fully satisfied with his performance. As for the criticisms about him being a "boring" fighter, the decorated amateur boxer did promise to address the said issue.
"I feel terrific after the fight," Rigondeaux said in another report by Boxingscene. "He threw heavy but his style has nothing on mine. My style outmatched his. It's been 11 months since I've been in the ring and I definitely felt some cobwebs but I d like to see some other fighters be out 11 months and come back with a win."
"I definitely wanted to give the fans a better fight so I need to get back in to the gym, get more active to give a better performance," he continued. "I promise that with the tools I have now after signing with Roc Nation that next time I'll be explosive. Thank you to my team for helping me get this win."
