Casimero stakes belt against Rigondeaux

JOHNRIEL CASIMERO vowed to knock out two-time Olympic champion Guillermo Rigondeaux of Cuba when he stakes his World Boxing Organization bantamweight belt on August 14 at a still undetermined venue in the US.

International matchmaker Sean Gibbons confirmed the Casimero-rigondeaux fight to Businessmirror on Thursday, adding the 32-yearold three-division Filipino world champion Casimero will start his training camp in the US on June 1.

“Johnriel Casimero will be fighting a two-time world champion, a former two-time Olympic gold medalist and an all-time greatest amateur fighter,” said Gibbons, referring to Rigondeaux who won gold medals at the 2000 Sydney and the 2004 Athens Olympics as a bantamweight.

“It’s a tremendous fight,” he added. Gibbons said the Ormoc City pride (30-4 win-loss record with 21 knockouts) will do Filipino fight fans a favor—finish what a prime world champion Nonito Donaire Jr. couldn’t do by sending the 40-year-old Rigondeaux to his second loss in his career.

“He [Casimero] is going to do the fight fans a favor and give revenge for Nonito Donaire’s loss. He is going to knock out Rigondeaux dead,” Gibbons said.

Gibbons said Casimero could now be vigorously staying in shape in his hometown.

“I hope he is training now, and not wait until June 1. We are not worried about Casimero though because he knows what he’s doing,” Gibbons said.

Casimero will train under strength and conditioning coach Angel Heredia Hernandez.

Rigondeaux, the current World Boxing Association regular bantamweight champion, scored a unanimous decision win against Donaire Jr. in April 2013, relying solidly on tactical movements to seize the WBO and WBA super bantamweight titles in New York City.

But Casimero’s sixth straight knockout wins since 2018, including his recent third round technical knockout win over Duke Micah last September 26 in Connecticut, put “El Jackal” Rigondeaux (20-1 record with 13 knockouts) in a tight situation.

Rigondeaux’s only loss came at the hands former world champion Vasyl Lomachenko—a sixth-round technical knockout last December 9, 2017. He retired on his stool because of an injured left hand.

The fight is released and organized by the Premier Boxing Champions of Al Haymon and Showtime Boxing.