Guillermo Rigondeaux stripped of his WBA super-bantamweight world title

The WBA announced in November that the Cuban would be stripped of the belt if he lost his fight with Vasyl Lomachenko the following month

The Cuban has been stripped of his WBA world title (Getty)

Guillermo Rigondeaux has been stripped of his World Boxing Association super-bantamweight world title.

The WBA announced in November that the Cuban would be stripped of the belt if he lost his fight with Vasyl Lomachenko, which was for the WBO’s junior lightweight title.

And the association appeared to make good on their decision when their latest rankings were published on Tuesday, with Rigondeaux no longer listed as the 'super' champion at 122-pounds.

If Rigondeaux had beaten Lomachenko, the WBA would have given him five days to decide which title he wanted to keep.

However, the two-time Olympic gold medallist was completely dominated by Lomachenko, himself a double Olympic gold medallist who is ranked as the world’s best active boxer, pound for pound, by ESPN.

The Ukrainian was on top from the outset and Rigondeaux eventually retired at the end of the sixth round with a hand injury. It was Rigondeaux's first career defeat.

The WBA’s decision does not come as a huge surprise as, in a statement published over the new year, the body published a statement which outlined their continued commitment to reducing the number of world titles on offer under their banner.

“The World Boxing Association (WBA) announced in January 2016 that it would work on reducing the amount of champions in the 17 boxing categories and we have done so,” the statement read.

“2017 started with 32 champions and closed with 25 monarchs in the 17 categories, although it is pertinent to note that when this plan started in the search for a sole monarch, there were 42 champions.

“In addition, there are 9 categories that have only one champion, and if not, the title remains vacant and about to be disputed. In that spirit, the Championship Committee has worked tirelessly to make the resolutions honored. It has also given much-needed mobility to several categories by ordering qualifying combats.

“Without a doubt, this goes to show coherence with the new policies of the WBA and for 2018 a promise to keep on working on our rules proposals.”