By Ian S Palmer
Guillermo Rigondeaux of Cuba finally returns to the ring when he meets Giovanni Delgado of Italy in a scheduled eight-round bout at the Microsoft Theater, in Los Angeles, California this Sunday, January 13th. The fight, which is scheduled for a catch-weight of 123 lbs, can be seen live in the USA on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Deportes. Rigondeaux hasn’t fought since being stopped after the sixth round against Vasyl Lomachenko in December of 2017. Delgado’s last outing was a third-round stoppage defeat at the hands of Joshua Greer Jr in September.
Rigondeaux’s a two-time Olympic gold medalist who is now at the advanced age of 38. He moved up a couple of weight classes to challenge Lomachenko, but it was too much for him to handle. The southpaw is a former world champion and still considered to be an elite boxer with good power. It may seem his pro career has been wasted with just 18 contests and a record of 17-1 with 11 Kos. However, most opponents duck him and he’s also had promotional problems. He’s possesses excellent defensive skills which means he’s not the most exciting boxer around.
Rigondeaux was a longtime world super bantamweight champion who’s biggest pro wins have been over Nonito Donaire, Hishashi Amagasa, Joseph Agbeko, Rico Ramos and Sod Kokietgym. He stands 5-feet-4-inches tall with a reach of 68 inches. The Cuban’s fought 113 rounds since turning pro in 2009 and has a knockout ratio of 58 per cent. He has pretty good power, but isn’t considered to be a knockout artist. Rigondeaux controls the ring in excellent fashion and is quite hard to hit. Fans aren’t usually too thrilled to watch him fight though since he’s been accused of being over cautious.
Still, he’s managed to stop 11 of his 18 opponents and five of the last 11. Rigondeaux was an excellent amateur who won Olympic gold in 2000 and 2004 as well as seven Cuban titles and a pair of amateur world championships. He’s in the twilight of his career now and is just looking for a journeyman opponent to regain some confidence and get back in the ring after a lengthy 13-month layoff. Still, he needs to decide what weight he wants to continue his career at since 130 lbs seems to be out of his depth and may decide on anywhere from 118 to 126 lbs.
The 27-year-old Delgado has a mediocre record of 16-8 with 9 Kos and has lost four fights in a row, six of his last seven and seven of his last nine. Delgado is replacing super featherweight Daniel Rosas who was originally scheduled to meet Rigondeaux. Delgado has been beaten by the likes of Joshua Greer Jr., Brandon Figueroa, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Omar Lina, Diego De La Hoya, Joseph Diaz, Edgar Lozano and Roberto Pucheta with Pucheta, Rodriguez, Figueroa and Greer all stopping him.
Delgado’s biggest win has been against Cesar Juarez via a 10-round split decision in 2016. He turned pro in 2010 and has boxed 116 rounds since then. He’s 5-feet-5-inches tall with an unlisted reach so is an inch taller than Rigondeaux. He doesn’t posses much in the way of power with a current knockout ratio of just 38 per cent. Delgado’s taken on some good boxers in the past, but has lost every time he’s stepped up in class.
Prediction…
Delgado isn’t the type of opponent fans want to see Rigondeaux facing, but he’s been inactive yet again and needs to get back in the ring as soon as possible. He’s working with Ronnie Shields in his corner for this fight and hopes to fight more regularly with the Premier Boxing Champions stable. Rigondeaux shouldn’t have a problem beating a journeyman like Delgado and if he does, he should perhaps consider hanging up his gloves.
