Guillermo Rigondeaux Surprises by Winning a New Professional Title

November 13, 2024

Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux defeated Dominican Dannis Agüero Arias this Tuesday by KO in the opening round, a result that allowed him to win the international bantamweight title in the World Boxing Council (WBC) version. The event took place in the city of Miami.

When many thought that the 44-year-old veteran should hang up his gloves, he surprised everyone by extending his lengthy career with a powerful left-hand punch that knocked his opponent down on the canvas and forced the referee to stop the fight, according to the newspaper El Nuevo Herald in its digital edition.

The Santiago native has thus brought his professional record to 23 victories—17 of them by knockout—while recording three losses.

According to the outlet, the Cuban "Chacal's" aspirations are centered on becoming a world champion again, something truly complex, since in addition to his age, his division is full of fighters with marked youth and quality, including Japanese Naoya Inoue, considered by many among the best pound for pound.

Rigondeaux is considered one of the best fighters from the island in recent decades, a talent that together with a peculiar defensive style led him to win Olympic titles in the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 editions.

As an amateur boxer he had an impressive career, recording only 12 losses in 475 fights. Additionally, he won several world titles at continental and regional multi-sport games, in a period in which he was crowned Cuban champion on six occasions.

During the Rio de Janeiro 2007 Pan American Games, he was involved in a controversial attempt to abandon the Cuban delegation, for which he was sanctioned. Two years later he left Cuba to settle in the United States with the objective of continuing his career as a professional.

In his new stage, Rigondeaux was world champion in two weight classes and held the unified super bantamweight titles of the World Boxing Association (WBA), the WBO and Ring magazine between 2013 and 2017, as well as the bantamweight (regular) title of the WBA from 2020 to 2021, the outlet notes.

However, his elusive style and lack of power in his punches during the most demanding fights made him an unattractive fighter for fans and promotional companies in professional boxing.

The recent victory, coupled with another favorable result in his previous presentation when he knocked out Puerto Rican Charlie Clemente in the seventh round, could give new momentum to his aspirations, still very far from approaching the elite again.