HOME SWEET HOME: CASIMERO RETURNS TO A HERO'S WELCOME AT THE OMEGA GYM
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 08 Aug 2012
CEBU CITY - IBF junior flyweight champion Johnriel Casimero (17W-2L, 10 KO?s) was greeted by sportswriters, photographers and television camera crews when he entered the gates of the Omega Boxing gym in Mabolo. The place was decorated with banners and balloons and a sumptuous Filipino lunch awaited him.
Together with Promoter Sammy Gello-ani, Trainer Cristopher 'PingPing' Tepora and Omega grand manager Pio Paolo Castillo, they spoke about the champ's split decision win against Pedro Guevara in Mexico last weekend.
?I would like to thank Sammy, the Omega gym trainers and our boxers who served as sparring partners for Casimero,? Castillo said ?Without them, success would not have been possible.?
?It has been proven that wherever we bring Casimero, he can make adjustments and win for us.? Gello-ani said. ?He showed it already in Nicaragua two years ago. Against Moruti Mthalane it was a different story. He was moving up in weight and he trained for only two to three weeks that was why he had trouble catching his breath. But he has recovered psychologically from what happened in South Africa. The loss motivated him. He has changed a lot. When we were in Argentina, Casimero did not even feel the effects of jet lag.?
Casimero spoke about the fight and about the rounds where his timing seemed a bit off. ?I was just pacing myself. I knew if I kept on throwing punches and missing, I would get tired in the late rounds.?
Despite guiding his boxer to two major titles, Trainer PingPing Tepora remains humble and is open to the possibility of Casimero being trained by a foreign coach.
?If it is for the good of the boxer, I am okay with that,? Tepora said. ?If he gets the chance to train abroad, it is fine with me. I know we need to work on a lot of things and he can still improve.?
Tepora also talked about how he motivated Casimero during the fight.
?I thought we had him when Casimero knocked him down in the first round. But, he stopped punching, I had to remind him to continue punching or he will lose the title. Fortunately for us, he became more aggressive in the late rounds.?
?Our Mexican hosts were very polite and friendly.? Tepora added. ?They treated us well.?
The 22 year old Casimero improved his road record to 3W-2L. He also feels that he need to improve.
?I know there are aspects of my game I need to improve.? he said. ?I need to work harder in the gym.?
Gello-ani talked about the possibilty of staging a fight here but admitted that it will be difficult to find sponsors. ?He has seven months to defend against the mandatory challenger. With the support of TV we can stage a fight here. What Casimero needs to do now is to stay aggressive and hungry.'
"He deserves a long reign because he earned the title the hard way,? Gello-ani added, referring to the fight in Argentina against Luis Lazarte which ended with an ugly ring riot.
Casimero's success is one of the 'feel good' stories for Philippine boxing this year. We can only hope he gets the chance to show his skills in more friendly surroundings the next time he defends his title.
L-R: IPI's Pio Paulo Castillo, Johnriel Casimero, Promoter Sammy Gello-ani and Pingping Tepora during Wednesday's homecoming press con of Casimero at the Omega Gym in Mabolo, Cebu City.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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