Vasyl Lomachenko Pushing for Guillermo Rigondeaux Fight

By Olly Campbell - 08/18/2015 - Comments

WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (4-1, 2ko) has upped the ante in trying to push for a fight with Cuban former amateur standout Guillermo Rigondeaux, telling the WBA (sup) 122 lb champion, ‘let’s fight for the right to be champion.

Lomachenko took to social media after provisional talks between the two camps about a mooted contest at 126 have stalled, ostensibly over a 134 lb rehydration clause in the contract that the Cuban wants to ensure Lomachenko doesn’t blow up too significantly on fight night.

However, in a tweet posted last night, the Ukrainian suggested that financial minutiae may also be behind the stall, writing;

“@RigoElChacal Let’s fight not for money but for the right to be a real champion. Let’s do it for all the boxing fans.”

Lomachenko’s promoter Top Rank is said to be keen on the fight with Rigondeaux, although broadcasting giant HBO are said to be ready to set a November date for Lomachenko, who last boxed on the Mayweather/Pacquiao bill on May 2nd, scoring a stoppage against Gamalier Rodriguez.

Rigondeaux, who is still yet to box in 2015, finds it notoriously difficult to get opponents and was last out against lanky Japanese featherweight Hisashi Amagasa in November 2014, in a fight where both men tasted canvas.

In an unusual and somewhat back-to-front step earlier this year, Rigondeaux’s manager Gary Hyde wrote to the WBA to petition them to force WBA 122lb (reg) champion Scott Quigg to step up and challenge his client, given that as a 2nd tier champion, Quigg is Rigondeaux’s mandatory challenger.

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