By Chris Williams: WBA/WBO super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (13-0, 8 KO’s) will be fighting #11 WBA bantamweight contender Jonathan Guzman (16-0, 16 KO’s) on July 12th at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, Macao S.A.R., China. This will be Rigondeaux’s last fight with Top Rank, as he’s going to be moving on to find a promoter who can keep him busier than he’s been recently in fighting for Top Rank.
Rigondeaux has fought only once since he whipped former WBO 122lb champion Nonito Donaire last year in April, although it’s not for Rigondeaux not wanting to fight. Rigondeaux was interested in getting back in the ring and giving Donaire another thrashing, but Top Rank promoter Bob Arum hasn’t let Rigondeaux get another chance at fighting Donaire. Rigondeaux wanted to take Donaire’s scalp for a second time, but Arum didn’t make the fight.
Rigondeaux fought last December when he trounced a ring rusty Joseph Agbeko in beating him in a one-sided fight that was televised by HBO. Rigondeaux was put into a situation where his fight was almost guaranteed to be a dull affair due to Agbeko’s inactivity in going into the fight. Agbeko had fought only once in the past two years before facing Rigondeaux, and he had done zero to earn a title shot. It’s too bad that Arum didn’t match Rigondeaux against Donaire again or put him in with guys like Carl Frampton, Scott Quigg, Leo Santa Cruz, Kiko Martinez or Fernando Montiel.
Guzman, 24, has an impressive knockout record, but he’s never faced anyone good yet, and he’s going to be way, way over his head in being put in with Rigondeaux. Guzman can slug a little, but he’s far out of Rigondeaux’s class that it’s embarrassing. In Guzman’s last two fights, he’s defeated Ramon Emilio Cedano (2-29) and Eury Hernandez (0-4-1). Those aren’t exactly the type of opponents that you’d like to see from someone who is about to fight the best fighter in the super bantamweight division in Rigondeaux. I wonder why Arum is matching Rigondeaux against such an inexperienced fighter like Guzman?
The only thing that Guzman can hope for is that he at least gets in a few good shots in a losing effort. It’ll be a moral victory for Guzman if he can win a couple of rounds, and isn’t clowned too badly in this fight because on paper he just does not match up with Rigondeaux at all. Guzman is just a fringe contender at bantamweight, and that kind of gives you an idea of what he’s up against.
Also on the Rigondeaux-Guzman card will be flyweights Brian Viloria and Zou Shiming facing opponents still to be determined in non-title bouts.
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