By REYNALD MAGALLON
Former three-division Filipino world champion John Riel Casimero is hoping that his impressive first-round technical knockout victory over Saul Sanchez has piqued interests to finally land big fights in the super bantamweight division.
The controversial 35-year-old fighter made his hopes of starring in more high-profile fights even more apparent during his post-fight interview on Sunday after making quick work of his counterpart, lasting only 2:41 in the opening frame.
Casimero, like he usually does, called out 122lbs undisputed king Naoya Inoue, vowing that he can put together an even more impressive performance than his win against Sanchez.
“’Yung pinakita ko mas higit pa doon sa mga susunod na laban ko. Hopefully soon lalaban na sa akin yung mga big fight,” said Casimero.
“Naoya Inoue. Where’s Naoya Inoue come on,” he added, adhering to the teasing of the fans.
The flamboyant orthodox from Ormoc, Leyte, was no doubt sharp and impressive especially for someone who is coming off a year-long hiatus.
What has been turning off potential fights for the former champion was his issues outside the ring.
The Filipino, for one, was embroiled in another weight management issue after coming in over the limit prior to his fight against Sanchez. He was once stripped of his WBO belt on a separate weight mismanagement issue.
Casimero, however, was undeterred although he stressed that it only happened because the fight was a non-title bout. In a case of a championship fight, he assured he would pull all the stops to make the weight.
“My win, it’s controversial pero ‘di na bago sakin ito dahil ‘di ko business iyan. Ang business ko ito ang pag-knockout sa mga kalaban ko. Wala akong pakialam kung overweight ako,” said Casimero.
“Kung championship ang laban, pagsikapan ko talaga na makuha ‘yung timbang ko. Pero hindi championship ito, kaya may point na 123 timbang ko okay lang dapat. Option iyon e pero okay lang,” he added.
Despite being overweight, the fight against Sanchez pushed through in the condition that Casimero would be wearing heavier gloves and he was subjected to two more weigh-ins on fight day.
