CASIMERO vs SULTAN FOR IBF TITLE ELIMINATOR ADDED TO PINOY PRIDE 42
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 04 Aug 2017
CEBU CITY ? Two Filipino world title contenders will meet in a co-feature bout on Pinoy Pride 42 when former two-division world champion Johnriel Casimero and IBF Inter-Continental superfly champion Jonas Sultan will fight for the IBF world flyweight title eliminator, this was announced by ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer at a press conference held at St Mark's Hotel here Friday.
Headlining the event set at the Waterfront Hotel & Casino on Sep. 16 is the IBF world junior flyweight championship fight between defending champion Milan 'El Metodico' Melindo of the Philippines and No. 6 ranked contender and former world champion Hekkie Budler of South Africa.
The winner of the Casimero-Sultan matchup will face current IBF world super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas, also of the Philippines. Casimero is ranked No. 3 while Sultan is ranked No. 8 by the IBF in the division. Nos. 1 and 2 are vacant.
?There has been a lot of talk about a Filipino fighting another Filipino at the top level. Here it is, and for the right reasons,? said Aldeguer who revealed that the matchup was ordered by the IBF.
There had been a lot of noise lately for rising Filipino super bantams Jack Tepora (20-0-0, 15KOs) and knockout artist Jeo Santisima (14-2-0, 12KOs) to face each other in the ring but Aldeguer said they will eventually meet ?when the time is ripe.?
Sultan, nicknamed 'Zorro', 25, got the call from the IBF to face Casimero by virtue of Sultan's sensational performance in his last four fights. After a unanimous decision loss to Go Onaga of Japan on Nov. 11, 2015, Sultan knocked out Tatsuya Ikemizu (then 13-1-0) in two rounds on Mar. 27, 2016 in Osaka, Japan; He followed it up with a 5th round shellacking of Romel Oliveros for the Philippine super flyweight title on May 28, 2016 in Bacolod; Sultan then went to South Africa to stop local boy Makazole Tete (then 15-1-2) in two rounds to capture the IBF Inter-Continental superfly title; and finally Sultan defended the IBF Inter-Continental belt by knocking out in the 8th round former world champion Sonny Boy Jaro of the Philippines on May 7, 2017 at Jaro's backyard in Angono, Rizal.
'Cuadro Alas' Casimero, 27, won the interim IBF world light flyweight title against Argentinian Luis Alberto Lazarte in the infamous after fight ring riot on Feb. 10, 2012 in Mar de Plata in Buenos Aires. Casimero went on to capture the regular IBF world light flyweight title on Aug. 4, 2012 and successfully defended it two times before losing it on the scales on May 3, 2014. He won the IBF world flyweight title from Thailand's Amnat Ruengroeng on May 25, 2016 in Beijing, China and successfully defended it once against Charlie Edwards of Great Britain on Sep. 10, 2016 before vacating it to campaign in the super flyweight division. He has so far logged one victory as a superfly by defeating journeyman Jecker Buhawe last June 25 in Iligan City.
ALA Promotions matchmaker and Gym manager Edito Villamor, who was also present during the presscon, said that the Casimero-Sultan matchup is good for the fans. "Both have power, they both move very well and both can counterpunch. This will be a great fight," Villamor said.
Aldeguer said he was not looking at the Casimero vs Sultan matchup as a ALA Gym fighter vs another Philippine gym fighter but as a showcase of Filipino talents on the Pinoy Pride boxing series. ?That has always been objective,? Aldeguer said. ?We were always open to feature top Filipino fighters like Casimero and [former world champion Marlon] Tapales on Pinoy Pride.? Aldeguer added that he hopes to promote the world championship fight between Ancajas against the Casimero-Sultan winner.
Aldeguer also said that the remainder of the Pinoy Pride 42 card, which is shaping up to be a blockbuster, will be announced next week.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.
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