An amateur legend, there is no doubt about that, but can the same be said about the professional career of the enigma that is Guillermo Rigondeaux?
A recent shambles of an attempt to fight an unrated UK contender in Jazza Dickens ended in failure meaning the Cuban faces further uncertainty in his already troubled career at the top level.
Sixteen fights in seven years tell a story in itself, although the calibre of those opponents tells you more about how hard Rigondeaux actually finds it to get a fight made.
Too good for his own good? – Damn right. And since that heady and dominant victory over Nonito Donaire back in April 2014 – nobody of any note will go anywhere near ?The Jackal? for fear of potentially being made a fool of.
As it turns out, an array of talented foes are lurking out there, with the likes of Carl Frampton, Scott Quigg and Hugo Ruiz at 122, plus many more at the featherweight limit.
So why won?t anybody fight Rigondeaux? ? Well, it seems that the former unified champion is immersed in a toxic mix of way too much ability to create any real excitement, a non-existent travelling fanbase – and a lack of interest in him actually being beaten.
The same could be said for pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr to some extent, but at least the ?Money Man? had punters clamouring to dip in their pockets on the off chance that they may witness his first loss.
Had Rigo been knocked down by Donaire and picked himself up to knock the Filipino out, there may just have been a window of opportunity for him to capitalize on, but winning so comfortably and so convincingly against the number two star in the world made viewers turn away even more.
How can Rigondeaux rectify this? ? Well it seems that time is running out fast. At 35 and a half years old, Rigo isn?t getting any younger and is no closer to securing any other career defining nights.
A move up in weight could be a start to claim another world title, although there are still no guarantees that any of the organisations could make the massive fights happen for Rigo.
One thing for sure is that fighting Jazza Dickens wasn?t the answer Rigo is looking for.
Carl Frampton is what Rigo needs, but it looks for all the world like the Belfast man is heading in a different direction by fighting Leo Santa Cruz.
It took manager Barry McGuigan just hours to rule out a fight with Rigo on the back of Frampton?s win over Scott Quigg, but would nailing down the man who lost that Manchester contest could be a good alternative.
Quigg would have to score a victory in the interim, but Rigo is sure to be fighting for the WBA super-bantamweight belt at some point this year should he decide to stay at the 122 pound limit and the Bury man would be a worthy foe.
Should Quigg fancy the job, a massive UK event could be sold by promoter Eddie Hearn at the end of 2016 or early 2017 before interest in Rigondeaux completely runs out for good and one of the most promising careers of all time has withered away without even coming remotely close to fulfilling its considerable potential.
