Pinoy boxer Drian Francisco to face Guillermo Rigondeaux in Las Vegas

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino junior featherweight contender Drian Francisco will get the opportunity of a lifetime, even if the opportunity comes on short notice. 

Francisco has signed to face top pound-for-pound fighter and The Ring magazine junior featherweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto vs Saul “Canelo” Alvarez middleweight championship fight, which takes place Saturday, November 21 (Sunday Manila time) at Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. 

The 33-year-old Francisco (28-3-1, 22 knockouts) of Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro, Philippines had been scheduled to fight this past Friday at the Philippine Navy Headquarters in Taguig City, but withdrew from the card after he was offered the fight with Rigondeaux (15-0, 10 KOs) after the weigh-in. 

Matchmaker Joven Jimenez confirms that the contract had been signed and returned to Caribe Promotions, which handles the 35-year-old Cuban boxer. An email to Louis Fonseca of Caribe Promotions was not immediately returned.

Rigondeaux is a two-time Olympic gold medalist but made his name as a professional with his 2013 victory over Nonito Donaire Jr. Rigondeaux’s career didn’t take off after, and he’s fought just 3 times since. 

He has endured a tumultuous past month, having been stripped of his WBO junior featherweight title, and effectively stripped of the WBA belt as well after being designated a “champion in recess” due to inactivity. 

Rigondeaux hasn’t fought since New Year’s Eve 2014, when he stopped Hisashi Amagasa in Japan in 11 rounds. 

Francisco says that he’s confident he can pull off the upset. 

“After seeing him beat Nonito, I told myself that I can do this,” said Francisco. “It’s also my dream fight. All boxers, their greatest goal is to have a fight for a world championship. So I’m not going to let this pass me by. I’m going to do everything I can to win. 

“I have been thinking about it for a long time on how I’m going to beat him. He’s a very technical fighter, he’s an Olympic gold medalist, he’s really good with distance, he’s great with jabs, straights. I’m thinking I have a chance because I’m an orthodox so I can surprise him.” 

Filipino boxer Drian Francisco discusses his fight with Guillermo Rigondeaux on the Cotto-Canelo card @rapplerdotcom pic.twitter.com/kqH8XtbBRj

— Ryan Songalia (@ryansongalia) November 14, 2015

Francisco experienced his best success as a junior bantamweight (115 pounds), defeating contenders Ricardo Nunez and Duangpetch Kokietgym en route to earning an interim WBA title. He relocated briefly to the United States to train in Los Angeles, but suffered a decision loss to Chris Avalos in 2013.

Now training out of Manny Pacquiao’s MP Gym in Davao City, Francisco has fought just once since suffering a shocking first round knockout loss to local contender Jason Canoy this past May.

Francisco says he had been sick leading up to the fight, but acknowledges the loss may have made him a more attractive opponent for bigger name fighters. 

“He saw that I lost in the first round in GenSan because I was sick. That’s OK with me,” said Francisco, who is trained by Pacquiao assistant Nonoy Neri.

“If he beats me, that’s OK. But what would be great is if I beat him and that’s really what I’m going to do. What would be great is if I beat him. That would be a big deal for me. What’s in my mind and in my heart is that I’m going to work hard for it.

“If I beat him my life will be better and I’ll get more popular but I’ll have to be really good to beat him. Whatever I know in boxing, I’ll give it beyond 100 percent just to beat him.” – Rappler.com

Ryan Songalia is the sports editor of Rappler, a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and a contributor to The Ring magazine. He can be reached at ryan.songalia@rappler.com. Follow him on Twitter @RyanSongalia.