Visa trouble impedes Inoue-Casimero bout
JAPANESE International Boxing Federation ( IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight champion Naoya I Inoue’s lack of US visa is causing the delay o of his unification bout against Filipino John R Riel Casimero.
Top Rank chief Bob Arum told TheManilaTimes Th on Wednesday th through an overseas call that no ti timetable can be set for the InoueC Casimero fight unless the Japanese se secured a US visa.
“(Naoya) Inoue doesn’t have a visa. He agreed to get a [US] visa, but he hasn’t doing the interview and nothing is happening with the State Department with this visa, so how I can schedule the Inoue fight when I don’t know when he will come to the United
States?” Arum said.
The undefeated Inoue holds a 19-0 record with 16 knockouts against Casimero’s 29-4.
Casimero has expressed his frustration over the delay in an earlier interview with TheTimes on Sunday, saying he’s preparing to come home to Ormoc City. Casimero has been training in Las Vegas since February.
Arum said he can’t do anything to expedite the issuance of Inoue’s visa.
“I have no idea I am not the President [of the US], I am just a boxing promoter.”
The veteran promoter said he is planning to hold the bout in front of an audience of 2,000 by September or October this year.
“How else can I make a pay for? unless I make an audience because Inoue has a big following in Japan. But the first problem is I can’t even get him here,” Arum lamented.
The Inoue-Casimero unification bout was originally scheduled April 25 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada but the Covid-19 pandemic happened bringing the sports world to a standstill.
International matchmaker Sean Gibbons said he would act on the matter within the week.