Mobile Home | Desktop Version




Another path for Casimero

By Joaquin Henson
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 24 Sep 2021


Casimero (L) and Butler (R).
It won’t be either WBC bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire, Jr. or IBF/WBA super titlist Naoya Inoue whom WBO ruler JohnRiel Casimero is fighting next. Casimero had hoped to take on Donaire or Inoue in a bid to begin the unification process but the WBO ordered the other day a mandatory defense against No. 2 contender Paul Butler of England instead. WBO championship committee chairman Luis Batista Salas instructed Casimero’s promoter Tom Brown and Butler’s promoter Lee Eaton to negotiate the bout within 20 days from receipt of the order with a purse bid to be conducted if there is a failure to agree to terms. If a purse bid is required, the minimum total will be $100,000 with Casimero assured at least a 65 percent share.

Casimero was slated to battle Guillermo Rigondeaux in Carson City last Aug. 14 then Donaire came into the picture to replace the Cuban. Things went sour between Casimero and Donaire, prompting the Filipino Flash to withdraw. Rigondeaux was brought back to engage Casimero and the fight proceeded in a boring yawner where the Filipino won by a split decision. Donaire and Casimero have since patched up but their match is on hold. Donaire has been ordered by the WBC to take on Reymart Gaballo in a mandatory defense while Casimero was given a similar advice by the WBO to stake his crown against Butler. It’s possible that the winners of both fights will face off so a Donaire-Casimero showdown remains an option in the horizon, assuming they brush off their challengers.

Butler, 32, is a former IBF bantamweight champion with a 33-2 record, including 15 KOs, and has never fought outside the UK. It’s likely his manager Eddie Hearn will insist on a fight in England. For Casimero, fighting on foreign soil is no issue. He’s won twice in the UK, thrice in the US, four times in Mexico and once each in China, Panama, Argentina and Nicaragua. MP Promotions head Sean Gibbons calls him “The Road Warrior.”

If the fight is held in England, Casimero will likely train in Las Vegas with strength and conditioning coach Memo Heredia before traveling to the UK so he falls under health protocol rules coming from an “amber” country instead of a “red.” The UK lists the US as “amber” and the Philippines as “red.” The protocol rules are less strict for travelers from “amber” countries. Gibbons said “everything is being explored” as he has the lead role to negotiate in Casimero’s behalf.

Between Casimero and Butler, they’ve battled fighters from at least 20 different countries making them virtual United Nations ambassadors. Butler has faced opponents from South Africa, Hungary, Bulgaria, Mexico, Iraq, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Romania, Nigeria, France, Tanzania and Nicaragua while Casimero’s victims came from Cuba, Ghana, South Africa, Mexico, Japan, UK, Thailand, Colombia, Panama and Argentina.

Butler, 32, was supposed to take on No. 1 contender Joseph Agbeko last June but the Ghanaian had visa issues so he was replaced by late sub Willibaldo Garcia of Mexico. Butler won by a split verdict and took the WBO International crown, gaining eligibility as a mandatory challenger. Butler has trained at the Wirral CP Gym in Cheshire since he was 10 and coaches amateurs. He’s been dubbed “The Baby-Faced Assassin” although his boxing style isn’t close to Marco Antonio Barrera’s. His two losses were inflicted by Puerto Rico’s Emmanuel Rodriguez whom Gaballo defeated, and South Africa’s Zolani Tete whom Casimero demolished.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Joaquin Henson.

Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • Japanese Rule of Lower Weights Under Challenge; Head-Scratching Latest WBC World Rankings
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, Wed, 06 Aug 2025
  • UNDERCARD ADDITIONS ANNOUNCED FOR ALLEN v MAKHMUDOV AS HEARN EXPECTS TICKETS TO FLY FOR OCTOBER 11 IN SHEFFIELD
    Wed, 06 Aug 2025
  • Yoenis Tellez to Defend WBA Interim Title Against Abass Baraou in High-Stakes Showdown on DAZN
    Wed, 06 Aug 2025
  • CB Promotions To Debut This Fall
    Wed, 06 Aug 2025
  • 2 Division World Champion, Current WBO, The Ring Super Lightweight Champion Teofimo Lopez Confirmed for Eighth Annual Box Fan Expo, During Mexican Independence Day Weekend, Saturday September 13,
    Wed, 06 Aug 2025
  • THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 11 - ALI GETS BACK HIS BOXING LICENSE, WINS OVER QUARRY, BONAVENA AND ELLIS
    By Maloney L. Samaco, Tue, 05 Aug 2025
  • THE PAST WEEK IN ACTION 4 AUGUST 2025: Canizales Stops Pradabsri in Caracas; Duarte Outpoints Sims; Prograis Edges Diaz; Ancajas Wins in US Return
    By Eric Armit, Tue, 05 Aug 2025
  • Round 12 with Mauricio Sulaimàn: Unforgettable Moments with the Champions
    By Mauricio Sulaimán, Tue, 05 Aug 2025
  • IT’S A “HOMECOMING” FOR FIVE-TIME WORLD TITLE CHALLENGER MARICELA CORNEJO FRIDAY, AUGUST 8 AT LEGENDS CASINO
    Tue, 05 Aug 2025
  • HERNANDEZ STOPS GARNETT IN TENTH ROUND IN MAIN EVENT OF CHRISTY MARTIN PROMOTIONS’ “MAYHEM IN MUSIC CITY 2”
    Tue, 05 Aug 2025
  • YOELVIS GOMEZ READY TO SHINE IN RETURN BOUT AGAINST EDWINE HUMAINE JUNIOR
    Tue, 05 Aug 2025
  • Team USA’s Youth High Performance Team made a major statement in Germany
    Tue, 05 Aug 2025
  • Adam wins 2nd BBG 300 Ultra Marathon
    By Lito delos Reyes, Tue, 05 Aug 2025
  • Legendary boxing trainer John Brown honored by Kansas City Royals
    Tue, 05 Aug 2025
  • All or nothing for Jerwin
    By Joaquin Henson, Mon, 04 Aug 2025