@SuikodenII :sadrigo: got his belt back breh
Guillermo Rigondeaux given WBA 122-pound title back
By
Scott Christ
@scottchristBLH on May 18, 2016, 8:00a
12
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Guillermo Rigondeaux has gotten back one of the belts wrongfully taken from him late last year.
Guillermo Rigondeaux is the best super bantamweight in the world, and the WBA has chosen to once again recognize that by reinstating him as their super bantamweight titleholder, months after stripping him and naming him "champion in recess," which was bizarre and mostly served to make the Carl Frampton-Scott Quigg fight a "unification" bout.
Now that Frampton, who beat Quigg in late February, has moved up to featherweight, the WBA "super title" was once again available, and Rigondeaux (16-0, 10 KO) has it back in his possession.
He also held the WBO title last year, but was stripped of that belt in late October due to being inactive for 10 months, barely even a notable layoff in today's boxing world. And at any rate, Rigondeaux then fought in November, within the general one-year period most accept as the limit before considering a fighter inactive.
Rigondeaux was slated to fight earlier this year in the United Kingdom against Jazza dikkens, but had visa issues and had to cancel.
He now must face interim WBA titleholder Moises Flories (24-0, 17 KO), which is a good fight, and the WBA has said that they would considering allowing interim fights for one or both of them before the mandatory bout.
Dan Rafael says both will likely do so, as Flores is still slated to face Paulus Ambunda on June 11 in Namibia, which is a dangerous fight, and
Rigondeaux is in talks to face current bantamweight titlist Jamie McDonnell.
Usually, I don't recommend something like "hey, just give him his belt back," but this was a case where I have said just that, and honestly, it's the right decision. It was wrong and transparent the way the WBA removed his status in the first place, and to do anything
but give him the belt back seemed silly, at least to me. He never lost it, he hadn't been as inactive as one really needs to be to be considered officially inactive, and the only reason the WBA did what they did, as far as I can tell, was to get a big chunk of the Frampton-Quigg fight. They got it, Frampton's not defending, so give him the belt back.
Guillermo Rigondeaux given WBA 122-pound title back
Rigo vs Jaime McDonnell is a really good matchup for Rigo
