Gary Hyde claims he is saddened but not surprised to see the turmoil Cuban sensation Guillermo Rigondeaux currently finds himself in.

The Cuban, deemed by some as the ‘greatest amateur of all time,’ has seen his frustrations as a pro brought to the boil last week as he lost his WBO title without stepping into the ring.

‘Rigo’, who was managed by Hyde up until September of this year, was stripped for inactivity by the governing body, and the WBA have followed suit and have relegated the Caribbean stylist to ‘Champion in Recess.’

Cork native Hyde believes the reason the 15-0 fighter hasn’t been in regular ring action is not solely because he has been avoided, and is more to do with to with promoters and managers’s reluctance to deal with the people he has surrounded himself with.

Indeed, Hyde believes the fighter with pound for pound potential is in danger of becoming a forgotten man unless he changes his entourage.

Speaking to Ring TV Hyde said,

“It saddens me to hear that Rigondeaux has been stripped of his WBO world title and on hearing that the WBA are also considering stripping him.”

“Rigondeaux has worked his whole career to become the best fighter in the world. He was successful in doing this, winning two belts, but he has surrounded himself with people who have ruined his career. No promoter or manager would touch Rigo with a 10-foot pole because these people are too difficult to deal with and they put hurdle after hurdle in front of every opportunity offered to Rigo. This is a nightmare situation for one of the best fighters in the world.”

The Cork boxing manager and promoter doesn’t believe his former charge is blameless in a career that has frustrated boxing fans.

“Rigo has to take some of the blame for destroying his own career. He has refused many multi-million dollar opportunities I offered to him over the last couple of years. He needs to get rid of these reptiles and get fighting again because not only will he lose his world titles outside of the ring he will also be forgotten.”