BY NICK GIONGCO
A unification showdown at bantamweight is in the offing as Top Rank is set to announce an April 25 faceoff between Japanese Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue and Filipino John Riel Casimero possibly in Las Vegas.
Sean Gibbons, the right-hand man of Manny Pacquiao and president of MP Promotions, told the Bulletin on Thursday that the mouth-watering clash seems to be a done deal.
“(But) we’re waiting for Top Rank and Honda,” said Gibbons, referring to Japan’s premier promoter Akihiko Honda of Teiken Promotions, the Tokyo-based outfit that represents the heavy-handed Inoue.
Inoue (19-0 with 16 KOs) is the holder of the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation titles while Casimero’s (29-4 with 20 KOs) is the World Boxing Organization crown.
Casimero became a three-division world champion after annihilating the tall and rangy Zolani Tete of South Africa last November in Birmingham, England.
Before cutting Tete to size, Casimero had won world titles at light-flyweight and fly and putting himself among the very few boxers who have won three titles in as many weight classes.
Casimero is one of just four reigning Filipino world champions alongside welterweight Pacquiao, super-fly Jerwin Ancajas and mini-fly Pedro Taduran.
Inoue annexed the WBA diadem after barely beating Filipino four-division champion Nonito Donaire last November in Saitama, Japan.
Following his huge win, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank announced Inoue’s inclusion to the Las Vegas-based company.
If the Casimero-Inoue brawl ends up being staged in Las Vegas, the 12,000-seater Mandalay Bay Events Center will likely host the bout.
