By Norm Frauenheim-
LAS VEGAS – Guillermo Rigondeaux is a master craftsman, yet there’s no market for his craft. He’s unbeaten and unpopular, an unlikely combination and a dilemma for promoters fascinated by his talent, yet still not able to sell it.
Yet, that talent still beckons, so much so that Rigondeaux has a second opportunity — perhaps a last chance — in a career that thus far hasn’t generated much income for him or anybody else.
The shy Cuban, a two time Olympic gold medalist, is a late addition to the Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez card Saturday night at Mandalay Bay. Rigondeaux left Caribe promotions and signed with RocNation, which was looking for somebody to fill a vacancy left by Andre Ward’s withdrawal because of a knee injury.
The announcement that Rigondeaux had been added to the HBO-televised card against Filipino junior-featherweight Drian Francisco (28-3-1, 22 KOs) elicited a familiar reaction. To wit: Yawns from the crowd that had already experienced that nap.
Fair or not – and who ever said boxing was fair? – Rigondeaux is another word for dull. Early on, his name got re-written, Rigondull instead of Rigondeaux. No matter what,he did, he couldn’t escape the damning tag. Go 15-0, and fans still yaw. Score 10 stoppages, still yawns. Get mentioned in the pound-for-pound debate, more yawns.
But at 35 he’s still around, still an intriguing bundle of possibilities.
At the undercard news conference Thursday, HBO’s Peter Nelson mentioned Rigondeaux by saying his “virtuosity is unrivaled in the sport.’’
Virtuosity is nice to have. But it doesn’t buy much. Ask a starving artist, which is what Rigondeaux’s fate might be if this attempt at collecting more than applause fails.
The question has never been whether he can fight. It’s whether he can excite.
“I love Rigondeux,’’ said Bernard Hopkins, the ageless warrior and Oscar De La Hoya’s associate in Golden Boy’s joint promotion with RocNation of Canelo-Cotto. “I’just love him as fighter.’’
But can he become a reliable draw? Rigondraw instead of Rigondull?
“I think so, I really do,’’ Hopkins said. “Listen, his job is to do only one thing. His job is to kick ass.
It’s the promoter. It’s the manager. it’s the networks. We have to promote the kind of fighter who needs to be pushed out there and glorified.
“It’s up to us to say: ‘Look, this is the guy.’ If somebody says no, that’s OK. But we keep pushing. It is up to us to find the right guys for him to fight. It’s up to us to be his mouthpiece.’’
Hall of Fame promoter Don Chargin, who has helped Golden Boy promote Canelo, agrees with Hopkins. A key in trying to market a shy fighter without any evident charisma, he says, is often in how he’s matched. Find the right business partner, Chargin says and you might be able to turn him into an attraction.
“It’s tough, but you’d be surprised,’’ Chargin said.
In part, the challenge with Rigondeaux is his Cuban pedigree. He grew up within the tightly-controlled Cuban system. It creates great amateurs. With the notable exception of former lightweight champion Joel Casamayor, however, it doesn’t allow for the kind of personality that sells in the American boxing market, which always been part skill and part theater.
“Yeah, he is shy,’’ Hopkins said. “But that’s the crazy thing about it. Rigondeaux is your worst nightmare in the ring. A lot of times, it just depends on who the dance partner is. If he he’s got a dance partner who doesn’t step on his feet, then he can prove he’s as good as we all know he is.
“We’re only as good as who we fought.’’
And maybe only as good as the promoter who markets and match-makes.
