The Cuban Sunset: Rigondeaux and Gamboa

Rigondeaux will take on Jose Velasquez (34-13-3, 24 KO) while Gamboa faces Alexander Espinoza (20-5-1, 9 KO). Two icons of Cuban boxing, the twin heads are almost a hundred years old combined; Gamboa is 45, and Rigondeaux is 44. Even though both men are near the end of their careers, the two Cuban migrants have each accomplished a lot in boxing.

Cuban citizens leaving their homeland is not unusual, with sports being no exception. In baseball and boxing in particular, many athletes have left the island in pursuit of a professional career. The amateur boxing system in Cuba is legendary. One of the greatest Cuban boxers ever, heavyweight Teofilmo Stevenson, was so in love with his homeland that he never left. Despite offers from promoters salivating at the prospect of Stevenson fighting Muhammad Ali, Stevenson famously 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, two-time Olympic gold medalist in 2000 and 2004, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest amateur boxers of all time, with a record of 463-12 in the amateur ranks. Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach called Rigondeaux “probably the greatest talent I’ve ever seen”.

Rigondeaux was a force from the start of his professional career, becoming the unified junior bantamweight champion and then capturing a 126-pound title. His technique and accuracy were sublime. 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 that men with two Olympic gold medals faced off in the professional ranks. While both were decorated amateurs, Lomachenko was naturally the bigger man. At the official weigh-in, Rigondeaux weighed in at a career-high 128.4 pounds, with Lomachenko coming in at 129 pounds. But those numbers don’t tell the whole story. After both rehydrated the next day, Lomachenko was 137.4 pounds while Rigondeaux weighed 130 pounds.

Lomachenko won the fight impressively by TKO in six rounds after Rigondeaux did not come out for round 7. Rigondeaux said he broke the top of his left hand in the second round. It was the first time Rigondeaux had lost a fight since he was an amateur in 2003.

After the loss to Lomachenko, Rigondeaux won three straight fights before dropping two more fights in a row. The first was a two-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 catastrophic life-changing defeat.

The fact that Rigondeaux is even fighting now is a minor miracle. He nearly went blind in March 2022 after a domestic accident when a pressure cooker exploded in his face at home while Rigondeaux was cooking Cuban black beans. Despite severe burns and losing over 80% of his sight, his corneas grew back, and fortunately Rigondeaux was able to recover and return to the ring.

A native of Guantanamo, Cuba, Gamboa was a world featherweight champion and won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics. Before defecting from Cuba, Gamboa sold his gold medal and gave the proceeds to his family.

After his defection, Gamboa, nicknamed El Ciclón de Guantánamo, which translates to “The Cyclone of Guantánamo”, began his professional career with 23 consecutive victories before running into Terence Crawford.

After losing to Crawford, Gamboa became much less active. Gamboa suffered defeats in his last three fights, falling 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 hung up his gloves. That was until this past February, when he agreed to a deal with BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing. And now here we are, at the FTL War Memorial Auditorium.