Rigondeaux will face Jose Velasquez (34-13-3, 24 KO) and Gamboa will face Alexander Espinoza (20-5-1, 9 KO). Two icons of Cuban boxing, twin headliners for almost a century together; Gamboa is 45, and Rigondeaux is 44. Although both men are nearing the end of their careers, these two Cuban immigrants have accomplished a lot in boxing.
Cuban citizens rebelling against their country is not unusual, and sports are no exception. In baseball and boxing, in particular, many athletes have left the island to pursue professional careers. The fledgling boxing program in Cuba is legendary. One of the greatest Cuban boxers of all time, heavyweight Teofilmo Stevenson, was so enamored of his country that he never left. Although promoters were salivating at the prospect of Stevenson fighting Muhammad Ali, Stevenson said, “What’s a million dollars compared to the love of eight million Cubans?”
Rigondeaux was born in Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city on the island. Rigondeaux is a two-division world champion, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in 2000 and 2004, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest novice boxers of all time, with a record of 463-12 in the senior ranks. Hall of Fame coach Freddie Roach called Rigondeaux, “probably the greatest talent I’ve ever seen”.
Rigondeaux was dominant from the start of his professional career, becoming the joint junior bantamweight champion and taking the title at 126 pounds. His skill and accuracy were high. Then Rigondeaux ran into one of the few men who could match his technical ability, Vasyl Lomachenko.
In December 2017, Rigondeaux moved up two weight classes to challenge Lomachenko at 130 pounds. It was the first time two Olympic gold medalists had faced each other at the professional level. While both were decorated rookies, Lomachenko was the bigger man by nature. At the official weigh-in, Rigondeaux weighed in at 128.4 pounds, while Lomachenko came in at 129 pounds. But those numbers don’t tell the whole story. After both rehydrated the next day, Lomachenko weighed 137.4 pounds while Rigondeaux weighed 130 pounds.
Lomachenko won the fight in impressive fashion by TKO in six rounds after Rigondeaux was knocked out in the 7th round. Rigondeaux said he broke his left hand in the second round. It was Rigondeaux’s first loss in a fight since he was a junior in 2003.
After the loss to Lomachenko, Rigondeaux won three straight fights before dropping two more fights in a row. The first was a split decision loss to John Riel Casimero, followed by a unanimous decision loss to Vincent Astrolabio. Despite the career setback, a month later, Rigondeaux avoided a life-changing defeat.
The fact that Rigondeaux is still fighting is a small miracle. He was nearly blinded in March 2022 after a domestic accident in which a pressure cooker exploded in his face at home while Rigondeaux was cooking Cuban black beans. Despite severe burns and losing more than 80% of his vision, his corneas grew back, and thankfully, Rigondeaux was able to recover and return to the ring.
Gamboa, a native of Guantanamo, Cuba, was a world featherweight champion and a 2004 Olympic gold medalist. Before defecting to Cuba, Gamboa sold his gold medal and gave the money to his family.
After his defection, Gamboa, nicknamed El Ciclón de Guantánamo, which translates as “The Cyclone of Guantánamo”, began his professional career with a 23-fight winning streak before running into Terence Crawford.
After the loss to Crawford, Gamboa began to slow down. Gamboa lost his last three fights, losing to Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, and finally, Isaac Cruz in April 2022. Gamboa was knocked down three times in the Davis fight and the Cruz fight. Gamboa has his gloves off. That was until last February, when he signed with BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing. And now here we are, at the FTL War Memorial Auditorium.
