ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania – Guillermo Rigondeaux’s last performance pleased action-craving boxing fans like no other fight in his professional career.

Rigondeaux traded hard shots with Julio Ceja for much of what was a thoroughly entertaining, surprising dogfight June 23 in Las Vegas. The typically careful Cuban southpaw got hit much more often in that bout than usual before finally flooring the Mexican veteran with a left hand that ended their scheduled 12-rounder with one second to go in the eighth round.

Whereas fans enjoyed Rigondeaux’s approach that night, his trainer hated how his skillful fighter performed. Rigondeaux apologized to Ronnie Shields and promised his trainer that he won’t fight that way when the 39-year-old former 122-pound champion meets Panama’s Liborio Solis in a 12-round bantamweight title bout at PPL Center on Saturday night (Showtime; 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).

“That was his own thing,” Shields told BoxingScene.com before a press conference Thursday at the Renaissance Allentown. “He did that himself. And I kind of got on him in the corner. ‘That’s not the way I trained you for this fight. I don’t know what you’re trying to prove.’ But he told me afterwards, ‘I saw something that, you know, I’d let him get close and then I figured if I can hit him, I can hurt him.’ That did happen, but I didn’t like him taking shots the way he was taking them to prove something. I told him he’s too old to prove anything. Just be himself and box and do the things that got him to where he’s at right now. So, he said, ‘I understand. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.’ ”

Shields sensed almost immediately June 23 that Rigondeaux would ignore their game plan in a fight FOX televised from Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Ceja (32-4-1, 28 KOs), who was a big underdog, was ahead on all three scorecards when Rigondeaux stopped him. Judges John McKaie (68-65), Eric Cheek (68-65) and Dave Moretti (67-66) each had Rigondeaux behind by at least one point entering the eighth round.

CompuBox credited Ceja for landing 60 more punches overall than Rigondeaux (225-of-627 to 165-of-479).

Ceja connected with almost all power punches (222-of-592 to 138-of-330). Rigondeaux was more effective with his jab (27-of-149 to 3-of-35).

“Just right away,” Shields said, “I thought he was trying to prove something to people. ‘Oh, I could take a punch.’ I told him, ‘You don’t have to do that. Be yourself! Forget what people say. I don’t care. I want you to move around the ring. I want you to box. You’re gonna catch up to the guy and you’re gonna hit him with something and it’s gonna be over. You’ve got that ability to do that.’ He said, ‘You’re right. I promise I won’t do that again.’ ”

Rigondeaux (19-1,13 KOs, 1 NC) has dropped down to 118 pounds to make his bantamweight debut versus Solis (30-5-1, 14 KOs, 1 NC).

They’ll fight for the vacant WBA world bantamweight title in the second of three bouts Showtime will televise. In the main event, WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. (30-1, 18 KOs), of Capitol Heights, Maryland, will make a mandatory defense of his 126-pound championship against Mongolia’s Tugstsogt Nyambayar (11-0, 9 KOs). 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.