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Philippines, 19 Feb 2026 |
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CASIMERO-INOUE UNIFICATION FIGHT COULD HAPPEN EARLY NEXT YEAR By Dong Secuya PhilBoxing.com Tue, 03 Dec 2019  TOKYO — The mouth-watering matchup between overnight sensation Johnriel Casimero of the Philippines and pound-for-pound fighter Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue is fast shaping up as the boxing gods, many of whom are gathered here under one roof during the ongoing WBO 32nd Convention, are intent on making the fight happen. “We hope to make the Inoue-Casimero fight early next year,” WBO president Francisco ‘Paco’ Valcarcel told the Japanese media during an interview. Casimero is the current WBO bantamweight champion while Inoue holds the IBF and WBA versions of the bantamweight titles. The underdog Casimero sent the highly favored Zolani Tete of South Africa crashing to the canvas two times before Referee Steve Gray stopped the contest at 2:41 of the 3rd round during their WBO world bantamweight title fight last Saturday in Birmingham, UK.  Newly minted full-fledged WBO bantamweight champion Johnriel Casimero has his banner adorned the halls of the Tokyo Dome Hotel in Tokyo, Japan during the 32nd WBO Convention. Inoue, for his part, engaged Filipino star Nonito Donaire Jnr to a fight of the year classic battle last Nov. 7 in Saitama, 30 kilometers north of Tokyo, and came out victorious. After his win over Tete, Casimero immediately called out Inoue: “Com’on Monster, let’s fight!” In answer to the challenge, Inoue posted on his social media account, “I became interested to fight Casimero.” Casimero’s stoppage of Tete became one of the hot topics being discussed here during the ongoing convention and more so the rumored Inoue-Casimero fight that could happen next. “Big surprise,” WBO Executive Committee member Danny Leigh of Australia told Philboxing. “But Casimero’s win is good for the Philippines. And the Inoue-Casimero fight? I think that’s going to happen 100%.” Inoue has recently signed with Top Rank who will arrange fights for the Japanese star going forward. Top Rank vice-president Carl Moretti is currently in Japan attending the convention.  WBO President Francisco Valcarcel (L) is being interviewed by the Japanese media. “Sean [Gibbons] is coming here,” Valcarcel told Philboxing. “And that [Casimero-Inoue] fight will be discussed.” Sean Gibbons is the president of MP Promotions who currently handles Casimero. As things are shaping up, it looks like the Inoue-Casimero unification fight is going to be finalized before the week is over. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.  |
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