Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Julio Ceja - June 23, 2019

[Ruthless-RKO]

WBC 154-poud champion Tony "Superbad'' Harrison and his predecessor, Jermell Charlo, will step into the ring for an immediate rematch on Sunday, June 23rd in the main event of Premier Boxing Champions on Fox and FoxDeportes from Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Televised coverage will also feature former 122-pound world champion Guillermo "El Chacal" Rigondeaux taking on Mexico's Julio Ceja in a WBC eliminator. Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased at AXS.com.

Rigondeaux (18-1, 12 KOs) will look to show off the masterful technical skills that made him a unified world champion and perennial member of the pound-for-pound list when he steps into the ring on June 23rd. A two-time Olympic gold medalist for his native Cuba, Rigondeaux made his name with victories over the likes of Nonito Donaire, Rico Ramos and Joseph Agbeko. The 38-year-old most recently knocked out Giovanni Delgado in January on FS1.

Fighting out of Tlalnepantla, Mexico, Ceja (32-3, 28 KOs) won a WBC interim belt at super bantamweight in 2015 by stopping Hugo Ruiz in the fifth-round. The 26-year-old would lose the full title to Ruiz in their rematch in 2016, but has won two of three fights since, including a knockout of Anselmo Moreno.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Boxing Prospect]

WBC can get fucked

[Ruthless-RKO]

WBC can get fucked

Why so piissed?

[Boxing Prospect]

Why so piissed?

Wake got screwed again! To two inactive guys...

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

Guillermo Rigondeaux: "I'm the best 122 pounder in the world!"

Greg Leon: How did everything go in preparation for Julio Ceja? What can we expect to see from you on June 23rd?

Guillermo Rigondeaux: "Everything went great in preparation for Ceja. I'm down here in Houston, Texas with my team of Ronnie Shields and Ramon Garbey and I feel great. I'm just getting ready for this fight." GL: Your last fight was your first fight in a while and it didn't last long. Have you basically been living in the gym since then? GR: "Yeah, you know I'm a guy who's always in the gym. I'm always in great shape and I'm just ready to go. I'm just happy to be getting back into the ring so fast."

GL: What do you know about Ceja? What do you think of him as a fighter?

GR: "I don't know too much about him. I do know he's a former world champion and obviously he's a Mexican fighter. I'm sure he's coming to do his best because Mexicans always fight with pride. He's a credible opponent and I'm taking him seriously."

GL: What do you want a win in this fight to lead to?

GR: "This fight is a world title eliminator for the winner of Vargas vs. Kameda. That's the fight I want at 122 pounds, I'm also willing to campaign at 118 lbs if a major world title opportunity comes up. I've been campaigning for a world title shot and it's something I want right away."

GL: Are you expecting this fight to go the distance?

GR: "I don't ever make predictions or say I'm going to knock somebody out, but I'm going to go out there and do my best and we'll see what happens."

GL: One way or the other you haven't gone the distance since 2015.

GR: "That's true, but I still don't get into the predictions. I'm just happy to be active and I"ve been able to stay sharp and at 122 pounds I feel like I'm really strong right now. This is my weight class and I feel like I can knock anybody out in this division."

GL: Who do you like in Vargas-Kameda?

GR: "I don't know enough about each guy to really go into that. I know their names, I haven't watched enough to give you an honest opinion, I just hope whoever wins fights me."

GL: Closing thoughts.

GR: "I just obviously want to thank you for the interview and I want all of the boxing fans around the world to tune into Fox on June 23rd to watch the best 122 pound fighter in the world. This is going to be a great fight between two former world champions who are looking to become champion again."

[Ruthless-RKO]

WBC Sanctions As Final Title Eliminator

Boxing’s longest reigning active lineal champion is now one win away from fighting for an alphabet title.

The June 23 clash between Guillermo Rigondeuax and Juilo Ceja–which airs live on Fox from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nev. (Sunday, 8:00pm ET) will now come with the caveat being guaranteed a shot at the World Boxing Council (WBC) super bantamweight title.

“Ceja is ranked number one in the 122-pound division and Rigondeaux will enter the fight third in the (WBC) rankings,” Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the WBC explained in his decision to sanction Sunday’s bout as a final eliminator. “The winner will face the winner of Rey Vargas vs. Tomoki Kameda.”

[squiggy]

How do people think Rigo would do against Navarrete?

[Onetimeonly]

How do people think Rigo would do against Navarrete?

Not well

[gilgamesh]

How do people think Rigo would do against Navarrete?

To tell you the truth. I'm not sure he's gonna beat Ceja. Ceja is a pretty solid fighter, and hitter, and Rigo is 38 years old which might as well be 45 or 46 when you're talking about a Jr. Featherweight.

Ceja lost his last bout due to a cut I think, but I think he can win here. Obviously Rigo beating him wouldn't shock me, but I think Ceja can get the upset.

[Ruthless-RKO]

To tell you the truth. I'm not sure he's gonna beat Ceja. Ceja is a pretty solid fighter, and hitter, and Rigo is 38 years old which might as well be 45 or 46 when you're talking about a Jr. Featherweight.

Ceja lost his last bout due to a cut I think, but I think he can win here. Obviously Rigo beating him wouldn't shock me, but I think Ceja can get the upset.

Rigo does possess some good power and doesn’t like he’s aged. I guess this fight will tell us more than his previous.

[Best Coast]

Rigo by hard-fought decision vs a guy he would have easily beaten a few years ago!

[jamamb]

who is rigos best win in the past 5 years

even a guy like ceja, id say its not really clear that rigo should beat him easily. we could see some amagasa scares or worse

[gilgamesh]

Yeah at the very least he's gonna have a hard night's work.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Yeah at the very least he's gonna have a hard night's work.

Watch now how Rigo blasts him out in 3 rounds.

[gilgamesh]

Watch now how Rigo blasts him out in 3 rounds.

Highly unlikely. Rigo ain't the "blasts him out in 3" type. At least not when you're talking about this level of competition.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

Fight night!

[Duran1970]

What a terrible f'n stoppage ..
Bad reffin all around

[gilgamesh]

Yeah the referee absolutely robbed Ceja. Ceja was ahead on the cards, and was up at the Count of 6, and was clearly ready to continue. Inexplicable to stop that fight right there.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I had Ceja ahead 4-3 before the stoppage. But it was some fight.

[Brian Seneca]

I too felt the stoppage was bs. It was the end of the round and he was on his feet. Had time to recover between rounds. Not saying he doesn’t get stopped but give the guy a chance.

[Onetimeonly]

Yeah the referee absolutely robbed Ceja. Ceja was ahead on the cards, and was up at the Count of 6, and was clearly ready to continue. Inexplicable to stop that fight right there.

He wasnt clearly ready to continue. He could barely walk when offering protest. Didn't look like he knew where he was.

[Ruthless-RKO]

He wasnt clearly ready to continue. He could barely walk when offering protest. Didn't look like he knew where he was.

True. He could have been KO’d cold the very next round then the people would still be giving the ref shït saying he should have stopped it after the first