After a year of being inactive, John Riel Casimero will make his return to the ring against former title challenger Saul Sanchez. Sanchez is ranked #13 and #8 by the WBC and WBO in the bantamweight division. Earlier this year, he lost a majority decision to Jason Moloney. He is a decent quality fringe contender. The fight will be in Japan and if Casimero has any hope of getting a fight against Naoya Inoue, he will have to win impressively by knockout against this opponent who is coming up in weight.
The very exciting ring return for Casimero came against Saul Sanchez. This fight is paramount to Casimero re-establishing his status in the bantamweight division, given that he has been out of action for a year. While Sanchez may have lost recently to Jason Moloney, he is an excellent opponent with very good credentials, as both the WBC and WBO rank him.
The manner in which Casimero gets into a big fight with Naoya Inoue will rest on the performance he puts up here. With Sanchez having lost two of his last three fights, and supposedly coming in heavy to the weight, Casimero will not only be favored but one would expect him to win convincingly-a stoppage would likely be a good thing.
Such may be the case with a solid career that could get Casimero back in the fold, which would give him the best case to compete against Inoue, the top fighter in the division. Second, it was a way of appealing to the Japanese audiences and maybe catching the eye of the Inoue campaign.
How Casimero overcomes ring rust and adjusts to how the bantamweight division is today will mean everything. Sanchez has the possibility of showing just how prepared Casimero is for the greater tasks that lie ahead.
If this speculation is true, why would Bob Arum and Top Rank Boxing talk to them?
Bob isn’t new to the business, and the fact that he partnered with a promoter in Japan and that most of Inoue's fights have taken place there makes it clear that arranging this fight is not impossible. If they are genuinely interested, they could make it happen, settling things once and for all before Inoue moves up.
This might be very regretful statement, however, I reckon that Casimero will retire with no challenges against the champions or challenges against the best boxers in his weight divisions.
It’s unfortunate, but it’s the reality of the situation. Casimero parting ways with MP Promotions seems to have been a misstep in his boxing career, and now he’s facing the consequences. Without the right backing, he’s not getting the matchups that would elevate him to become a mandatory challenger for Inoue. It’s a tough position to be in, and it’s sad to see his potential being hindered by these circumstances.
However, similar to what you have mentioned, it will certainly be very difficult for Casimero to get the fights that his career will need to become a deserving challenger for Naoya Inoue. This might not very much be important if the boxer is young and only on the beginning of his career. But this Casimero is old for a boxer and on the ending of his career.
Right, age is a big factor for boxers, as we all know that this is a contact sports, and it's really hard to continue up to you 40's and still remain on top. And from what we have seen since John Riel move up to 122 lbs he is not the same boxer anymore. And maybe he knows that, that's why he keeps on taunting Inoue up to this day so that he will get the biggest paycheck for his career. But Inoue is no longer interested on fighting him.
I am not quite certain what happened to the negotiations with Nonito Donaire, however, after this fight was cancelled Casimero has fought Akaho, Filipus and Yukinoti Oguni. Who are these boxers?
I reckon if he has fought Nonito Donaire and had the victory, this would certainly cause Inoue to have an attraction on a fight against Casimero. There was an article before that reported, according to Donaire's wife, Casimero would not agree to a drug and steroid test. Does this imply that Casimero is using steroids?
The fight negotiations between John Riel Casimero versus Nonito Donaire did not materialize, and a victory over the latter will raise Casimero's status and appeal as an opponent against Naoya Inoue. Since the ban, Casimero has been matched up with underrated opponents such as Ryuichi Funai, Philip Mugabi and Yukinori Oguni. Though such fighters are good to say the least, they have never earned respect like Donaire has. The issues regarding drug and steroid testing have to be handled with a lot of care. While there have been reports on Casimero refusing tests, no reports indicate the use of steroids. The added controversy with his latest rivals may well jeopardize Casimero's visibility and further possible matches.