SPORTS SHORTS 162: BACK TO JOHN RIEL CASIMERO VS. GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 05 Jul 2021
MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons is convinced that John Riel Casimero will face a bigger challenge against Cuban former Olympian Guillermo Rigondeaux when the two bantamweight kings collide on August 14 at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
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Rigondeaux is back as Casimero's opponent after WBC champion Nonito Donaire withdrew from the fight when the negotiations were cancelled due to controversies involving Casimero camp's misunderstanding with Donaire's wife and manager as well as issues on Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) testing.
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“I think we’re fighting the tougher fight, we’re fighting the guy who beat Donaire,” Gibbons told ESPN’s Mike Coppinger. “He’s only had one bad fight in his life and that was fighting a guy two divisions bigger than him, Vasiliy Lomachenko. Guillermo Rigondeaux … dude has a lot of life left in him. We're taking on a very difficult challenge."
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Rigondeaux was the original opponent scheduled to challenge Casimero's WBO bantamweight title as announced last April. But after Donaire won the WBC belt from Nordine Oubaali last May, an all-Filipino champion vs. champion showdown was agreed but it suddenly failed when disputes arise from both camps.
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ESPN reported that Gibbons apologized to Donaire's team for taking part in the controversy, admitting that "it got out of control." Gibbons added, "We jump on the sword and say there were some things that shouldn't have been said. That's boxing. We're not in ballet; we're in boxing."
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The 23-year-old Casimero is on a six-bout winning streak and the latest victory was a technical knockout win over Ghanian Duke Micah last September 26 at the Mohegan Sun Arena, Montville, Connecticut, to improve his record at 30-4 with 21 knockouts.
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Casimero became the fourth Filipino fighter to win world titles in at least three weight classes after stopping South African Zolani Tete in the 3rd round on November 30, 2019 in Birmingham, England to win the WBO bantamweight title. He joined Manny Pacquiao, Nonito Donaire Jr., and Donnie Nietes in the elite list.
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Rigondeaux last saw action on February 8, 2020 with a split decision victory over Liborio Solis of Venezuela at the PPL Center, Allentown, Pennsylvania, to improve his record at 20-1 with 13 KOs and won the WBA (Regular) bantamweight title.
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Vasyl Lomachenko defeated Rigondeaux for the WBO super featherweight championship on December 9, 2017 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Lomachenko and Rigondeaux are considered two of the greatest amateur fighters in history, with each winning two Olympic gold medals.
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It was the first time double Olympic gold medal winners fought professionally and Lomachenko won by TKO when Rigondeaux quit after the 6th after due to an alleged left hand injury.
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After the defeat against Lomachenko, the 40-year-old veteran defeated two Mexican fighters Giovanni Delgado by 1st round KO and Julio Ceja by 8th round TKO, but these opponents were not of the same quality as a fighter like Casimero who has been champion in three divisions.
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Casimero is rated No. 3 bantamweight contender while Rigondeaux is at No. 9 by The Ring magazine. ESPN ranked Rigondeaux at No. 2 and Casimero at No. 4. While BoxRec listed Rigondeaux at No. 3 and Casimero at No. 5. The Transnational Boxing Rankings Board placed Casimero at No. 3 and Rigondeaux at No. 5.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, Austria, now age 73 years, is an Austrian-American actor, producer, businessman, retired bodybuilder, and former politician who served as the 38th governor of California from 2003 to 2011. His former wife Maria Shriver, now divorced, belongs to the famous Kennedy clan.
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Schwarzenegger started lifting weights at the age of 15 and won the Mr. Universe title at age 20. He then dominated the Mr. Olympia contest seven times. The Arnold Sports Festival, generally considered the second-most important bodybuilding event after Mr. Olympia, is named after him.
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He was appointed Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports on January 22, 1990 – May 27, 1993 under Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
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Sprinter Kristina Knott joined the Philippine Tokyo 2020 Olympic team when she obtained a universality place in the women's 200-meter run of the quadrennial meet. Knott earned one of four universality places after failing to directly qualify using the entry standard time of 22.80 seconds in the said event.
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The Filipino-American became a strong bet for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after she broke the Southeast Asian Games record twice in a single day in the women's 200m event.
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NBA Finals schedule :
Game 1: Bucks at Suns on Tuesday, July 6 (July 7, Philippine time)
Game 2: Bucks at Suns on Thursday, July 8 (July 9, Philippine time)
Game 3: Suns at Bucks on Sunday, July 11 (July 12, Philippine time)
Game 4: Suns at Bucks on Wednesday, July 14 (July 15, Philippine time)
Game 5*: Bucks at Suns on Saturday, July 17 (July 18, Philippine time)
Game 6*: Suns at Bucks on Tuesday, July 20 (July 21, Philippine time)
Game 7*: Bucks at Suns on Thursday, July 22 (July 23, Philippine time)
*If necessary
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Suns playoff records :
First round: 4-2 over Los Angeles Lakers
Second round: 4-0 over Denver Nuggets
Western Conference finals: 4-2 over Los Angeles Clippers
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Bucks playoff records :
First round: 4-0 over Miami Heat
Second round: 4-3 over Brooklyn Nets
Eastern Conference finals: 4-2 over Atlanta Hawks
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In 1968, the NBA expanded from 12 to 14 teams, and the two new teams were the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks. Both teams had not much success that season, winning 16 and 27 games, respectively.
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Before this year's championship, the Suns' only Finals appearances were in 1976 and 1993. They lost in six games on both of those occasions, first to the Boston Celtics and then to the Chicago Bulls. They are one of 11 teams without an NBA title, and the oldest team on the list.
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The Bucks only had two Finals appearances before this season. They won a title in 1971 with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson. But this year they will play again in the Finals for the first time since 1974, when they lost to the Celtics.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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