Guillermo Rigondeaux vs Jesus Martinez Preview February 24th, 2023
Former World Bantamweight Champion Guilllermo Rigondeaux of Cuba returns to the ring this Friday, February 24th when he takes on Jesus Martinez of Colombia. The 10-round bantamweight battle takes place in Hialeah, Florida. Rigondeaux lost his WBA Belt in August, 2021 when he dropped a split decision to John Riel Casimero after winning the vacant title in February, 2020 when he edged Liborio Solis by a split decision. He was also beaten in his last outing when Vincent Astrolabio beat him by a 10-round unanimous decision for the vacant WBC International Bantamweight Belt. Martinez last fought in December when he beat Marcelino Morales by a four-round unanimous decision.
Rigondeaux vs Martinez Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jesus Martinez +500
- Guillermo Rigondeaux -700
My Pick
Rigondeaux’s a two-time Olympic gold medalist who is now at the advanced age of 42 with a record of 20-3 with 13 Kos. He moved up a couple of weight classes to challenge Vasyl Lomachenko for the WBO Super Featherweight Title in December, 2017 but it was too much for him to handle and was stopped after six rounds for his first pro loss. He then preferred to run around the ring instead of engaging Casimero for his second defeat and has now lost two in a row with last year’s loss to Astrolabio. Even so, the southpaw is still considered to be an elite boxer with good power.
It may seem that Rigondeaux’s pro career has been wasted with just 23 fights on the books but many opponents ducked him over the years and he’s also had promotional problems. Then last year, he suffered severe damage to his eyes when a pressure cooker exploded while he was making dinner. Rigondeaux possesses excellent defensive skills which means he’s not the most exciting boxer around and he’ll be dropping down to the 118 lb bantamweight division for just the fourth time in his pro career.
Rigondeaux stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 67.5-inch reach and has boxed 156 rounds since making his pro debut in 2009. He was a longtime Super Bantamweight Champion who’s biggest pro wins have been over Nonito Donaire, Hishashi Amagasa, Joseph Agbeko, Rico Ramos and Sod Kokietgym. He has pretty good power with a current knockout ratio of 54.2 per cent but isn’t considered to be a KO artist and his last win by stoppage came in 2019 when he halted Julio Ceja in the eighth round.
He controls the ring in excellent fashion and is quite hard to hit but is often too cautious. Still, he’s managed to stop 13 of his 23 opponents and eight of the last 16. Rigondeaux was an excellent amateur who won Olympic gold in 2000 and 2004 as well as seven Cuban titles and a pair of amateur world championships. He’s in the twilight of his career now and this could be his last fight before hanging up the gloves.
As for Jesus Martinez Astrolabio, he’s also a 42-year-old southpaw who boxes out of Miami, Florida and he’s got 264 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in 2011. He carries a record of 33-17-1 with 16 Ko’s and has below average power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 31.4 per cent. He stands 5-feet-6-inches tall with an unlisted reach so gives up an inch in height to Rigondeaux.
Martinez has been beaten 17 times with some of his notable losses coming to Luis Nery, Azat Hovhannisyan, TJ Doheny, Melvin Lopez, Antonio Vargas and Ariel Lopez, who all stopped him. In fact, he’s been stopped in 10 of his 17 losses and was disqualified in a bout with Gary Antonio Russell in 2020. Martinez’s pro career got off to a good start however as he win his first nine fights and lost just one of his first 24 up until 2017.
Things fell apart after that though as lost 16 of his next 25 fights, but on a positive note, he’s won three of his last four outings. Martinez’s biggest wind have been against Jonathan Burgos, Micheal Arango, Miguel Martinez and Javier Martinez and Ronald Barrera. Martinez has had 51 pro fights up until now but has beaten just nine opponents who entered the ring with a winning record.
Prediction…
Regardless of how boring and old he may be, Rigondeaux is still a world class boxer with plenty of amateur and pro experience while Martinez is a journeyman who has been stopped 10 times. This fight is to give Rigondeaux some confidence after losing his last two outings and to see how well his eyes have healed since his accident. As long as his vision is okay, Rigondeaux shouldn’t have much of a problem winning this fight.
Rigondeaux’s experience should be the difference.
Play Rigondeaux -700 @ BetOnline.ag
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Guillermo Rigondeaux betting • Jesus Martinez betting