Guillermo Rigondeaux-James Dickens bout cancelled following visa issues

Guillermo Rigondeaux, following longs bouts of inactivity, was finally getting everything in order.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist easily topped Drian Francisco in November and was set to fight less than four months later - this Saturday in London to be exact - against James "Jazza" Dickens. However, Rigondeaux had issues securing a visa in a timely fashion and the bout is now off.

The former junior featherweight champion and current pound-for-pound entrant was training in Russia, but according to Dickens' promoter, Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions, the Cuban inexplicably flew back to his hometown of Miami on Tuesday afternoon.

The visa was set to be issued Wednesday "at the latest," per Warren.

"Strangely, Rigondeaux left Moscow at a time when both the Application Centre and Consulate were still closed," Warren said in a statement. "He has yet to explain to (Rigondeaux promoter) Roc Nation Sports, who are as much in the dark as Queensberry Promotions, as to how and why he has arrived in the USA and why he was in possession of his passport which should, as is standard protocol, have been presented to t he Visa Appli cation Centre.

"We are all extremely disappointed by the whole situation as Rigondeaux will not appear this Saturday and Dickens will not get the chance, that he has trained so hard for, to fight the world's best super bantamweight in front of his own fans.".

The Rigondeaux-Dickens 10-round bout was scheduled to be the co-feature at the 02 Arena. The main event between Terry Flanagan Derry Matthews in a lightweight title matchup is unaffected.

"We are disappointed the fight isn't happening," David Itskowitch, COO of Roc Nation Sports' boxing division, said in a statement obtained by Paste BN Sports. "Our goal is to get Rigondeaux back in the ring as soon as possible."

The 35-year-old Rigondeaux (16-0, 10 KOs) has never fought in the U.K., so a fight overseas would have helped build interest for a fight against Carl Frampton. The Irishman, who topped Scott Quigg last month, must defend his WBA belt against Rigondeaux next or be stripped.

But now, as is too often the case with Rigondeaux, it's a chance lost to build some momentum.

(Photo of Rigondeaux by Joe Camporeale, Paste BN Sports)