By Chris Williams: WBA/WBO super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (13-0, 8 KOs) successfully made weight on Friday in his weigh-in for his title defense against 37-year-old Sod Looknongyantoy (63-2-1, 27 KOs) on Saturday night at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, Macao S.A.R., China. Rigondeaux weighed in at 121.5 pounds. His opponent Looknongyantoy weighed in right at the super bantamweight limit at 122.
In the other fight involving a recognizable name on the card, two-time Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming (4-0, 1 KOs) weighed in at 111.5 pounds for his fight against little known 2nd tier fighter Luis De la Rosa (23-3-1, 13 KOs).
De La Rosa weighed in at 110.5. Top Rank is set to get #6 WBA Shiming a world title shot if he wins this fight against De La Rosa, even though Shiming will not have beaten any top tier fighters and would be leapfrogging over arguably more deserving contenders.
The Rigondeaux- Looknongyantoy fight will be televised on Unimas, whereas the arguably far less interesting fights involving Shiming and De La Rosa, and unbeaten super middleweight contender Gilberto Ramirez (28-0, 22 KOs) and Junior Talipeau (20-2-1, 7 KOs) will be televised on HBO2. #2 WBO, #2 WBC, #3 WBA, #4 IBF Ramirez lacks major power, speed and defensive skills. He’s unbeaten but terribly flawed with an inflated resume filled with weak opposition. He doesn’t match up well against any of the current champions, and he’ll have problems if he has to face some of the good contenders in the super middleweight division.
Rigondeaux said “I had a 10-week training camp with George Rubio where we focused on honing my combinations and power punching. I am taking nothing for granted with Looknongyantoy. He has an impressive record and he is a smart fighter. I intend to give UniMás and its boxing audience a great show. I plan to be more aggressive to be more impressive. But let me make this clear, I have been a world champion and an Olympic gold medalist for one reason – I do not make mistakes in the ring. I fight my fight, not my opponents’ fights. In baseball, great hitters do not swing at bad pitches. I am frustrated that the two other champions in my division – Leo Santa Cruz and Kiko Martinez – will not step up to fight me in title unifications to determine the true world champion. I do not understand that mindset. How do you not want to prove you are the best? I do. Nonito Donaire did when we fought in our title unification battle in New York last year. The fans deserve better from Santa Cruz and Martinez. The media should be holding them accountable. A real champion fights and accepts the challenges from the best in his division.”
Official weights on the card:
Guillermo Rigondeaux 121.5 vs. Sod Looknongyantoy 122
Zou Shiming 111.5 vs. Luis De la Rosa 110.5
Gilberto Ramirez 167.5 vs. Junior Talipeau 167
Brian Viloria 112.5 vs. Jose Alfredo Zuniga 112.5
Rex Tso 117.5 vs. John Bajawa 117.5
Ik Yang 143 vs. Rachamongkol Sor Pleonchit 136.5
Kuok Kun Ng 153 vs. Beau O’Brien 153
Egor Mekhontsev 177 vs. Mike Mirafuente 169.4
Mark Anthony Geraldo 116.2 vs. Efrain Perez 116.5
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