Another legend has been added to an already star-studded extravaganza.
Warriors Boxing has confirmed that Guillermo Rigondeaux will return to the ring on June 9 in his hometown of Miami, Florida. The former lineal junior featherweight championship will serve as the co-feature to the already announced Adrien Broner-Bill Hutchinson junior welterweight bout which will headline a Don King Pay-Per-View event from Casino Miami Jai-Alai.
An opponent was not yet named for Rigondeaux (21-3, 14KOs), though it hardly matters. His placement on the show will mean the most active year for the two-time Olympic Gold medalist since 2019, when he still held a claim the junior featherweight throne.
The 42-year-old Cuban southpaw returned to the ring and the win column with a 74-second blitzing of Jesus Martinez on February 24 in Hialeah, Florida. The victory snapped a two-fight losing streak, including a stunning ten-round, unanimous decision defeat to Vincent Astrolabio last February 26 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Astrolabio parlayed the win into a breakout year for the Filipino, who now faces Jason Moloney for the vacant WBO bantamweight title this Saturday in Stockton, California.
Rigondeaux will enter his fifteenth year in the pro ranks by the time he steps into the ring.
He won an interim junior featherweight title in his seventh pro fight, which he upgraded to the real thing with a 6th round knockout of Rico Ramos by his ninth pro fight in January 2012. Three fights later, Rigondeaux unified the WBA/WBO titles and claimed the division’s lineal championship with a twelve-round points win over Nonito Donaire, who was coming off a 2012 Fighter of the Year campaign heading into their April 2013 unification clash.
Rigondeaux was eventually stripped of both titles by the time he faced former titlist Julio Ceja in June 2019, the eighth and final defense of his lineal championship. It also marked the last time he fought twice or more in a calendar year, which ironically followed an inactive 2018.
The fifteen weeks between fights is the quickest career turnaround for Rigondeaux since his first year as a pro.
Broner’s anticipated return in the main event comes after more than a two-year absence. The former four-division titlist has not fought since February 2021 in a twelve-round win over Jovanie Santiago atop a Showtime telecast. He withdrew from a scheduled clash versus Omar Figueroa last August, citing mental health reasons. His attempt to return atop a BLK Prime PPV saw three separate opponents fall through before the event was canceled outright.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox