Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz (; born 30 September 1980) is a Cuban professional boxer, who held the unified WBA (Super), WBO and Ring magazine super bantamweight titles between 2013 and 2017, and the WBA (Regular) bantamweight title from 2020 to 2021.
As an amateur Rigondeaux won consecutive gold medals in the bantamweight division at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. He is also a seven-time Cuban national champion at bantamweight (2000–2006), finishing his amateur career with a record of about 475 fights with 12 losses.
Rigondeaux has been lauded by boxing trainer Freddie Roach as being "probably the greatest talent I've ever seen." He is known for his exceptionally fast hand speed, punching power, counterpunching abilities, athleticism, reflexes and footwork. He is widely considered one of the greatest defensive boxers of all time.
Amateur career Olympic results 2000 Defeated Moez Zemzeni (Tunisia) KO 1 Defeated Kazumasa Tsujimoto (Japan) RSC 3 Defeated Agasi Agaguloglu (Azerbaijan) 14-5 Defeated Clarence Vinson (United States) 18-6 Defeated Raimkul Malakhbekov (Russia) 18-12
2004 Round of 32: Defeated Liu Yuan of China – PTS (21-7) Round of 16: Defeated Mehar Ullah of Pakistan – RSC 3 Quarterfinals: Defeated Gennady Kovalev of Russia – PTS (20-5) Semifinals: Defeated Bahodirjon Sooltonov of Uzbekistan – PTS (27-13) Gold Medal Match: Defeated Worapoj Petchkoom of Thailand – PTS (22-13)
Other highlights 2000 Cuban national amateur champion - bantamweight 2001 Cuban national amateur champion - bantamweight 2001 World amateur champion - bantamweight (in Belfast, Northern Ireland) Defeated Kazumasa Tsujimoto (Japan) RSC 2 Defeated Reidar Walstad (Norway) RSC 2 Defeated Artur Mikaelian (Greece) 24-8 Defeated Sergey Danilchenko (Ukraine) 15-6 Defeated Aghasi Mammadov (Turkey) 30-24 2002 Cuban national amateur champion - bantamweight 2002 World Cup champion - bantamweight (in Astana, Kazakhstan) Defeated Justin Kane (Australia) RSC 1 Defeated Keren Gurgen (Turkey) RSC 1 Defeated Chotipat Wongprates (Thailand) 13-2 Defeated Toljen Kanatov (Kazakhstan) 7-6 2003 Cuban national amateur champion - bantamweight 2003 competed as a bantamweight at World championships in Bangkok, Thailand. Results were: Defeated Andrzej Liczik (Poland) 15-1 Lost to Aghasi Mammadov (Azerbaijan) 13-16 2003 Bantamweight gold medalist at Pan-American games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Defeated Argenis Mendez (Dominican Republic) 17-2 Defeated Alexander Espinoza (Venezuela) RSC 2 Defeated Andrew Kooner (Canada) 22-2 Defeated Abner Mares (Mexico) 17-7 2004 Cuban national amateur champion - bantamweight 2005 Cuban national amateur champion - bantamweight 2005 World amateur champion at bantamweight in competition held in Mianyang, PR China Defeated Vladislav Sokolov (Latvia) RTD 2 Defeated Ougonchulun Batkhuu (Mongolia) RSC Defeated Bahodirjon Sooltonov (Uzbekistan) RSC 3 Defeated Ali Hallab (France) 37-23 Defeated Rustamhodza Rahimov (Germany) 19-9 2005 Bantamweight gold medalist at World Cup in Moscow, Russia. Defeated Worapoj Petchkoom (Thailand) 34-16 Defeated Zsolt Bedák (Hungary) 28-11 Defeated Murat Aiyrmasov (Kazakhstan) 34-7 Defeated Maksim Khalikov (Russia) 37-21 2006 Cuban national amateur champion 2006 Bantamweight gold medalist at Central American Games in Cartagena, Colombia Defeated Juan Velasquez (Puerto Rico) 10-1 Defeated Jhonatan Romero (Colombia) walk-over Defeated Arturo Santos Reyes (Mexico) 14-3 2006 Bantamweight gold medalist at Nations Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan Defeated Mirzhan Rakhimzhanov (Kazakhstan) 28-10 Defeated Rau'shee Warren (United States) 21-17 Defeated Elshad Guliyev (Azerbaijan) walk-over Defeated Ali Aliyev (Russia) RSC 3
Rigondeaux finished his amateur career having around 475 fights under his belt, with a record of 463 wins and 12 losses.
Defection On 22 July 2007, Rigondeaux and teammate Erislandy Lara failed to appear for their scheduled bouts at the Pan American Games in Brazil. It was initially announced that Rigondeaux was to turn professional, joining fellow 2004 Cuban Olympians Odlanier Solis, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Yan Bartelemí, who defected earlier in 2007. As with the other Cuban defectors, Rigondeaux signed a promotional deal with Ahmet Oener and ARENA Box-Promotion. However, on 2 August, Rigondeaux and Lara were taken into police custody in Brazil, stating that they wanted to return home to Cuba. However, Cuban leader Fidel Castro then stated that Rigondeaux and Lara could not box again for the Cuban team. In February 2009, Rigondeaux defected again via Mexico City to Miami, and signed with Arena Box-Promotion.
Professional career
Super bantamweight
Early fights
On 23 February 2009, Rigondeaux was announced to have defected along with 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist Yudel Johnson, Yordanis Despaigne and Yuniel Dorticos.Miami Herald He would train in the same gym as Yuriorkis Gamboa, Erislandy Lara and Odlanier SolisBoxing – Rigondeaux defects, in Miami! Fightnews.com and would continue his career as a professional once he completed all the residency requirements. He left behind his wife Farah Colina, a 7-year-old son and a 17-year-old stepson in Cuba.Associated Press He was also reportedly staying in the home of countryman and featherweight contender Yuriorkis Gamboa.MiamiHerald.com
Rigondeaux won his professional debut on 22 May with a third-round technical knockout (TKO) over Juan Noriega in Miami. Although he did not maintain a busy punch volume, Rigondeaux still landed hard shots. Noriega barely countered Rigondeaux's punches and the referee found the opportunity to stop the fight after Rigondeaux connected with a solid right to the head. On 17 July, he won his second pro fight against Robert Guillen by first round knockout. Rigondeaux was not active but he hit Guillen with a great hard counterpunch to the body which left him rolling on the canvas in pain.
On 18 September, Rigondeaux beat Giovanni Andrade by third-round TKO to win the NABA super bantamweight title, dropping Andrade once in each of rounds two and three.
On 16 December 2009, Rigondeaux won a unanimous decision over Lante Addy in 8 rounds, dropping Addy once in round one.
On 5 February 2010, Rigondeaux scored a first-round knockout against Adolfo Landeros, dropping Landeros with a hard left uppercut to the body.
Rigondeaux then signed a three-year contract with Bob Arum's Top Rank in July 2010. He is also co-promoted by Boris Arencibia's Caribe Promotions.
On 13 November 2010, Rigondeaux fought Ricardo Cordoba on the undercard of the WBC super welterweight title fight between Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito at the Cowboys Stadium, Dallas, in front of 41,734 people. This was the biggest fight in Rigondeaux's career to date. Rigondeaux knocked Cordoba down in the fourth round with a body shot, but was judged to be knocked down himself in the sixth, in what appeared to be a slip. Despite appearing to win clearly, the fight was judged a split decision, with Rigondeaux the victor and becoming a world champion in his seventh bout, winning the interim WBA super bantamweight title.
On 19 March 2011, Rigondeaux fought Willie Casey at the City West Convention Centre, Dublin, Ireland. This was Rigondeaux's first defense of his interim WBA title. A sweeping left uppercut in the opening round caught Casey flush and sent him back on his rear causing his glove to touch the mat at 1 minute and 45 seconds. He was up immediately and received a mandatory eight-count. A combination ending with a left hook sent Casey falling across the ring and down at 2 minutes and 19 seconds. He was able to make it to his feet but was visibly wobbled. A follow-up barrage sent Casey stumbling forward, prompting the referee to step in and call an end to the bout.
World super bantamweight champion
On 20 January 2012, Rigondeaux won the full WBA super bantamweight title by knocking out champion and The Ring magazine's No. 2 ranked super bantamweight, Rico Ramos (20-0, 11 KOs), in the sixth round. Rigondeaux controlled the opening round against a tentative Ramos. He quickly moved into range and fired the left hand both to the body and upstairs. A straight left hand caught Ramos against the ropes and sent him down at 2 minutes and 24 seconds of the opening round. He was up quickly and received a mandatory eight-count. Rigondeaux attacked but Ramos gathered himself and finished the round. Output waned in the second and third rounds with both fighters looking for counter-punch opportunities, neither seeming overly willing to open up. An accidental clash of heads opened a small cut on the outside of Ramos' left eyebrow near the end of round 4. Rigondeaux was warned in round 6 for pulling down the back of Ramos' head. Immediately after the warning, Rigondeaux came forward with a barrage and landed a clean left hand to the body that sent Ramos to the canvas grimacing in pain. He remained down on his back as the referee reached the count of ten.
Miscellaneous defences Despite Rigondeaux and his camp's efforts to make a fight with any of the other 122 pound champions, fights with champions such as Nonito Donaire, Toshiaki Nishioka, Jeffrey Mathebula and Abner Mares failed to materialise. Rigondeaux said, "They are cowards". On 9 June 2012, Rigondeaux made the first defence of his WBA super bantamweight title against Teon Kennedy on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley WBO welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada. Rigondeaux knew the split decision victory against Ricardo Cordoba did not please the HBO people, and learned from it the importance of aggressiveness. From the standpoint of promotion, the second appearance on HBO was crucial for him. He did not want to make the same mistake as he did two years ago. Rigondeaux impressively stopped Kennedy in the fifth round after knocking him down five times, all with his left cross, leading Kennedy to say "He just hits you with punches that you can't see". He has differentiated from the Cordoba fight. Now that he realized that he needed to not only win a fight but also entertain, his promoter Bob Arum stated that Rigondeaux could one day face Nonito Donaire, Jorge Arce, or Wilfredo Vázquez, Jr.
On 15 September 2012, Rigondeaux fought Roberto Marroquin on the undercard of the Sergio Martínez vs. Julio César Chávez, Jr. fight at the Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a relatively easy night for Rigondeaux, who outworked and outlanded Marroquin and seemed to just cruise through the fight. Rigondeaux gave his young opponent the first knockdown of his career in the fifth-round and scored another knockdown in the twelfth. The judges scored the bout 118-108, 118-108 and 118-109, all three in favour of Rigondeaux who retained his WBA title by unanimous decision.
Rigondeaux vs. Donaire
On 13 April 2013, Rigondeaux fought in a unification bout against WBO and The Ring champion Nonito Donaire at Radio City Music Hall, New York. Rigondeaux left his trainer Jorge Rubio in order to start training with his former amateur trainer Pedro Diaz for this fight. Donaire came into the fight as the No. 5 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.