Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Rigo vs. Santa Cruz? Maybe

Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya has consistently preached about wanting to make serious fights between the best the sport has to offer. One he has mentioned is a showdown between unified junior featherweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux and titleholder Leo Santa Cruz, whom De La Hoya promotes.

De La Hoya has more often mentioned his desire to match Santa Cruz (29-0-1, 17 KOs) with featherweight contender Abner Mares, but Rigondeaux’s name has also come up and that has Rigondeaux (15-0, 10 KOs) very happy to hear.

"It's good to know that Santa Cruz's promoter has stated that our unification fight has to happen," Rigondeaux said in translated comments. “I want to add his [WBC] green belt to my WBA and WBO championship collection. I've wanted this fight for some time. Let's hope this is not just idle talk. Let's do it!"

De La Hoya told ESPN.com the sides are discussing the fight for late May or June.

"I'm pretty optimistic," he said. "Talks have begun. Leo wants the fight. Golden Boy wants the fight, Rigo, his promoter and his manager want the fight."

One person De La Hoya didn't mention as wanting the fight is Al Haymon, Santa Cruz's manager, who has a big say -- if not the biggest -- in who Santa Cruz fights.

"I'm not sure if Al would want the fight but the promoters and fighters want the fight," De La Hoya said. "Leo is at a point where he should be fighting the best of the best. At this point I'm not going to promote a fight with Leo if it's not the best opponent for him and for the fans to watch. One thing about Leo is he wants to fight the best."

Rigondeaux, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and Cuban defector, has been unwanted by American television networks, leaving him to fight his past two bouts in Asia. He is coming off an 11th-round knockout of Japan’s Hisashi Amagasa in a fight in which Rigondeaux got knocked down twice in an otherwise one-sided contest.

A fight with Santa Cruz, if it happened, would surely draw American network interest.

"I have contacted Golden Boy Promotions many times to ask about making a fight between 'Rigo' and Santa Cruz," said Gary Hyde, Rigondeaux's manager. "They always answered by saying they were interested in making this fight but not at that time. [Tuesday], after learning Oscar said this fight has to happen, I reached out to Golden Boy and can confirm that negotiations have commenced. Myself and Caribe Promotions, Rigo's promoter, will endeavor to make this fight happen as soon as possible.”

Hyde added that should the fight happen and Rigondeaux win, he would want to Rigondeaux to challenge titleholder Carl Frampton of Northern Ireland.

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