“Willie is a warrior and a manager’s dream,” and that’s according to fellow Irishman Gary Hyde has been manager to Interim WBA World Super Bantamweight Champion Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux since signing “El Chacal” (The Jackal) back in March, 2007. However Hyde noted that “unfortunately for Team Casey, Rigondeaux is unlike any boxer Casey has ever faced.
‘Rigo’ is a freak of nature! His amateur pedigree is unmatched in boxing history and he has already stamped his unique talent on the professional scene by winning the WBA World Interim Title in just his seventh pro fight.”
Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux says he will “school” Limerick’s European Super Bantamweight Champion, Willie “Big Bang” Casey, when they square-off March 19 in Dublin.
But Casey says he will not go down without a fight. Big Bang starts a 10-week training camp this month and says that he will “train to beat this lad”.
The 29-year-old has always said that he is not a “journey man”, but that he will take his chances when he gets them – “I have a chance now and i want to take it.”
Casey stormed to fame in recent months and after a his UK Prizefighter victory and an unbeaten run of 11 pro fights to claim a European crown, the Southill man, proud of his roots, is very much focused on the battle ahead knowing that he must relinquish the European belt to fight Rigondeaux.
However Casey’s opponent, Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux, a southpaw now fighting out of Miami, was a 2-time Olympic Gold Medalist, as well as a 7-time national champion who captured a pair of World Championship titles during his amateur career. “Rigo” made his pro debut May 22, 2009, won the NABA super bantamweight title in his third action as a pro and last November in only his seventh fight, he won a unanimous 12-round split decision against Ricardo Cordoba (37-2-2) to become the Interim WBA 122-pound divisional champion.
Claiming that “Casey doesn’t belong in the same ring as me,” the 30-year-old Rigondeaux said, “I admire his courage for wanting to fight me. I’m excited about fighting in Ireland again, where I won my first World Championship as an amateur in 2001. I am world champion. If he [Casey] thinks I’m going to Ireland to lose my world title belt, he’s making a big mistake because I’m going to win, and in sensational fashion. He is tailor-made for me. I watched a couple of rounds of Casey’s previous fights and concluded that he’s a bit of a one-trick pony.”
The Guillermo-Casey title fight features a pair of unbeaten boxers headlining a show promoted by Top Rank, Nowhere 2 Hyde Promotions and Dolphil Promotions.
Ticketgroup.ie have tickets on sale from this Thursday, January 6.
