Casimero Must be Patient as Arum Holds Key to Inoue Fight
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 07 Jul 2020
Patience is a virtue.
Heaven holds a place for those who wait.
Johnriel Casimero must be patient as it is not Naoya Inoue but promoter Bob Arum who holds the key to their fight happening sooner or later in the United States.
The one thing Casimero should avoid at this point in time apart from showing any sign that could be misconstrued as disinterest, is being seen as an arrogant, impatient self-entitled brat.
He may be a world titleholder as the WBO champion but Inoue is the acknowledged world champion as holder of the WBA, IBF and the Ring lineal titles. As such, Inoue is the A side of their pairing and undoubtedly the main attraction in their projected confrontation.
More than those, Inoue is a top ward of Top Rank Promotion's Bob Arum who is eyeing the Japanese phenom as his next Manny Pacquiao, something that he has failed to do with his other prized fighter, Terrence Crawford.
So determined is Arum that he has actually planned the re-introduction of Inoue to the US fans in his championship debut in the American ring.
Significantly, Arum himself picked Casimero as Inoue's opponent for that big fight originally set for April 25 but had to be cancelled and now rescheduled due to the pandemic.
Arum has since been at the forefront of reviving professional boxing in the US under a two-phase plan intended to ease the sport to a new normal where big fights would be open to limited number of live spectators in line with the health protocols against the Coronavirus pandemic.
The first phase carried out through fight promotions virtually held behind closed doors has been successful enough as far as putting into place and testing the necessary safeguards preparatory to the staging of big fights.
Arum in effect has been laying the groundwork for the return of live arena big time boxing particularly in the Las Vegas area and the Inoue-Casimero fight is among his top priorities.
He himself confirmed that in talks with the sports media recently.
Contracts for the original April 25 date had been signed and Arum said that it is only the inability of Inoue to secure a new US visa that has been constraining him to set a final reschedule though he is eyeing a date in September or October at most.
That fight is very important and has continued to be eagerly awaited by fans in the US and elsewhere as it will take Inoue-- or Casimero-- just a title away from unifying all the championship belts at bantamweight.
It is good that, as this writer earlier strongly suggested, Johnriel has reconsidered his plan to return to the Philippines and is extending his stay in the US until the status of his fight versus Inoue becomes clear.
But it is not advisable for Johnriel to be issuing statements in the mainstream and even the social media that tend to question the willingness and readiness of Arum to push through with the fight and Inoue to do battle with him inside the ring.
Confidence is one thing.
Being cocky is another.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
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