In what might turn out to be an early candidate for Fight on the Year, the sublimely talented Guillermo ''El Chacal'' (The Jackal) Rigondeaux challenges rising Californian star Rico ''Suavecito'' Ramos for the WBA super bantamweight title at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Cuban Rigondeaux is one of the the greatest amateur boxers of all time and a double Olympic Gold medalist. 24-year-old Ramos will be making his first defense of the title he won in a shock upset over Akifumi Shimoda last July.

31-year-old Rigondeaux [8-0, six KOs] had an extraordinary amateur career that saw him win seven Cuban national titles, Gold medals at the Pan American Games, Goodwill Games, World Championships and Olympics while compiling a record of 400 fights with only 12 defeats.

He attempted to defect from Cuba to Brazil during the July 2007 Pan American Games. Rigondeaux hoped to join fellow 2004 Cuban Olympians Odlanier Solis, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Yan Bethelemy who had defected earlier in the year and signed promotional contracts with ARENA Box-Promotion in Germany.

Amazingly, just one month later, Rigondeaux handed himself in to the Brazilian authorities claiming he wished to return home to Cuba. Despite the boxer's change of heart, Cuban leader Fidel Castro announced that Rigondeaux would never again box for the Cuban team.

After two years of living as a social pariah in his own country and unable to continue with his boxing career, Rigondeaux defected a second time, this time to Mexico. He finally turned professional in May 2009 with a third-round TKO over Juan Noriega in Florida.

Because of his age and vast amateur experience, Rigondeaux has been moved along at breakneck speed. In only his third fight as a pro, he faced 70 bout veteran Giovanni Andrade of Brazil, and knocked him out in the third round. By his seventh fight he was facing the highly rated Panamanian Ricardo Cordoba for the WBA interim super bantamweight title on the Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito undercard in November 2010. Both men were on the canvas during the contest, and the 5'8", hard punching Cordoba gave Rigondeaux all he could handle for 12 tough rounds, but the Cuban just edged the fight on a split decision.

When Rigondeaux chose to put his WBA interim title on the line in Dublin against local hero Willie ''Big Bang'' Casey last March, some Irish and UK boxing fans including this writer believed that the close call against Cordoba was a sign that Rigondeaux had already peaked as a fighter and was on the decline. How wrong we were!

The unbeaten Casey who had looked so impressive in surging past his first 11 opponents was systematically taken apart in less than one round by the clinical precision, blinding speed and devastating power of the Cuban southpaw. Whether it be to the head or the body, Rigondeaux's attack was lethal, and after scoring three knockdowns, the referee waved the bout off and saved Casey from further punishment.

The Cuban may well be the best counterpuncher in the lighter weight classes fighting today, and proved against Casey that he can be deadly when faced with an opponent that comes to fight. However on Saturday he meets a highly talented young American who will not be so accommodating.

24-year-old Rico Ramos [20-0, 11 KOs] shocked the boxing world when he lost the first six rounds of his title challenge against Japan's Afikumi Shimoda before pulling a left hook out of nowhere and flattening the defending champion in the seventh round. Prior to landing the KO punch, the young American had looked out of his depth against the powerful and confident Shimoda.

''Suavecito'' [Spanish for ''little smooth one''] had a solid amateur career before turning professional in 2008. He began to make his mark on the pro ranks the following year when he defeated fellow prospect Alejandro Perez on points to lift the North American Boxing Organization Youth super bantamweight title.

In 2010 Ramos scored an eight round decision over seasoned veteran Reynaldo Lopez, and then stopped former IBF bantamweight title challenger Heriberto Ruiz in two rounds. In February 2011, he outpointed contender Alejandro Valdez over 10 tough rounds.

Although flashy and clearly talented, the young American looked far from the finished article, so much so that Japanese WBA super bantamweight champ Afikumi Shimoda saw little threat to his title when he made the trip to the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City last July.

For six and three-quarter rounds, it looked like Shimoda was right as he boxed superbly and dominated the fight, and then Ramos put his lights out with one perfect shot. Can the American pull of the same feat against Rigondeaux?

US boxing writers may claim that boxing in America is in the doldrums, but while that could be said of the heavyweights, the reality is that there are a clutch of talented young American champions in lighter weight classes like Lamont Peterson, Brandon Rios, Adrian Broner and Austin Trout who are proving that boxing is very much alive in America, and there is excellent strength and depth.

Rico Ramos proved he belonged amongst that elite list of athletes by keeping his cool after losing the early rounds of the fight against Shimoda, then taking advantage of a split-second window of opportunity and landing the KO punch. Now comes an even bigger test for the youngster against one of the best pure boxers in the sport today.

Without doubt, Rigondeaux represents a massive step up in class for Ramos, but by the same token, Ramos will be the toughest opponent the Cuban has faced as a pro. Rigondeaux has boxed precisely one round in the past 14 months, whereas Ramos has fought three times. The Cuban may have a vastly superior amateur pedigree than Rico, but the American was no slouch himself, beginning boxing aged 8 and winning 99 of 116 fights, earning Golden Gloves titles and being named as a reserve in the 2004 Olympic team.

The Casey fight made Rigondeaux look sensational, and without doubt the Cuban is a devastating counterpuncher. However, he almost blew it against Cordoba, hitting the deck in the sixth and only winning on a split decision.

I think that if Ramos avoids Rigondeaux's big bombs – particularly in the early rounds – he should be busy enough to pull off an upset and nab a close but unanimous decision. The American's greater experience in the pro game will be decisive, and although the Cuban will have his chances and both fighters could go down, Ramos should be able to outwork Rigondeaux down the stretch to take the win.

Ramos by unanimous decision.

Big Fight Odds: Guillermo Rigondeaux 2/7, Rico Ramos 5/2 bet365