Guillermo Rigondeaux has reportedly signed with Premier Boxing Champions in an effort to get back to the ring and become a world champion once again.
First reported by The Ring, Rigondeaux is the latest boxing great to sign with the company, following Manny Pacquiao who signed with PBC and the announcement was made on October 22. Rigondeaux will reportedly return to super bantamweight, where he was the WBA "super" champion until being unceremoniously stripped of the title at the start of 2018.
Rigondeaux, a two-time Olympic gold medalist out of Cuba's highly-touted amateur development system, had been one of boxing's best pound-for-pound fighters for years. The 38-year-old Rigondeaux won his first 17 fights as a pro, becoming the unified WBA "super" and WBO super bantamweight champion in the process.
But Rigondeaux's career was put to the test when he faced Vasiliy Lomachenko for the WBO super featherweight in December 2017. Rigondeaux would surrender on his stool after the sixth round of their fight, losing for the first time in his pro career. Rigondeaux's career had also been marred by inactivity as he has fought just once each year in 2015 and 2016 and twice in 2013, 2014 and 2017. Rigondeaux has not won a fight since July 2016 when he defeated James Dickens with the WBA title on the line. When Rigondeaux was stripped of the WBA title, the organization elevated Daniel Roman from "regular" titleholder to full champion.
No date for Rigondeaux's return has been set but will likely be fighting on either FOX or Showtime as PBC signed long-term broadcast deals to televised PBC boxing cards.