By Keith Idec
Guillermo Rigondeaux can’t believe how the WBA is treating one of its champions.
The WBA 122-pound champion is “very, very disappointed” that he could lose his title December 9, despite that he is moving up two weight classes to challenge WBO 130-pound champion Vasyl Lomachenko.
The WBA granted Rigondeaux the exception the Cuban southpaw requested to fight Lomachenko. The WBA previously ordered him to partake in an immediate rematch against Panama’s Moises Flores because the Nevada State Athletic Commission changed the result of their June 17 fight in Las Vegas from a first-round knockout win by Rigondeaux to a no-contest because Rigondeaux’s fight-ending punch landed after the bell to signal the end of the round.
The WBA has since ruled that if Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs, 1 NC) upsets Ukraine’s Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs), he’ll have five days after their fight to decide whether he’ll return to 122 pounds to defend his title. If Lomachenko beats him, WBA president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza has announced that Rigondeaux would lose his title, even though it isn’t a 122-pound bout.
Rigondeaux took to Twitter on Tuesday to express his displeasure with that odd decision.
He Tweeted: Very very disappointed of this decision made by @WBABoxing. I wonder if they would act the same way if my name was @Canelo, @FloydMayweather, @anthonyjoshua or even @GGGBoxing …. I bet NOT!
The two-time Olympic gold medalist also Tweeted: If [it] was ok for [Kell] Brook to fight GGG [at middleweight] and then return and defend his [IBF welterweight] title vs. [Errol] Spence Jr. Why isn’t the same case with me? Oh I know…. [inserted five emojis for money bags] Maybe I have to include @realDonaldTrump on this thread since [inserted heart emoji] #boxing so much. @WBABoxing
ESPN will televise the intriguing battle between Lomachenko and Rigondeaux a week from Saturday night from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
2023-10-20 02:07:30
