Not a few thought a bantamweight unification clash between Filipinos Nonito Donaire Jr. and John Riel Casimero was bound to happen sooner or later.
As it turned out, it is taking place much sooner – August 14 to be precise.
The all-Filipino unification clash popped up in conversations after Donaire revived his career on May 29 by regaining the WBC bantamweight crown with a devastating fourth round knockout of Nordine Oubaali.
On the other hand, Casimero has been a mushrooming force in the 118-pound division since November 2019, when he bamboozled Zolani Tete in three rounds for the WBO crown.
Shortly after dispatching Oubaali, Donaire expressed his desire to wrap up his illustrious career by becoming undisputed champion in the bantamweight division. This means holding all four major belts (WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF) at the same time.
Fighting on borrowed time at age 38, Donaire felt the need to fast track his plans. Unifying the bantamweight title means getting past two title holders: WBO champ Casimero and WBA-IBF Naoya Inoue of Japan.
Casimero, 32, has been chasing a unification fight with WBA-IBF counterpart Inoue. The two were supposed to meet in April 2020 but the fight was called off due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Casimero instead faced Duke Micah in September 2020 and promptly dispatched the latter in three rounds.
With Inoue obligated to make a mandatory defense against Filipino Michael Dasmariñas on June 19, Casimero agreed to an August 14 title defense against former Olympian and world champ Guillermo Rigondeaux of Cuba.
However, on the day Inoue brutalized Dasmariñas, Donaire announced in his social media accounts he was replacing Rigondeaux and will be facing Casimero for the combined WBC and WBO jewels.
As disclosed by Donaire in his Twitter account, he received an “invite” from noted matchmaker and Manny Pacquiao (MP) Promotions president Sean Gibbons informing him a fight with Casimero was available on the table.
As Donaire put it, he “pressed ‘yes’ on the invite.” In a wink of an eye, everything fell into place and the fight with Casimero was officially announced.
Surprisingly, Rigondeaux did not raise a howl. The Cuban was not injured or anything but agreed to step aside.
From where this writer sits, Rigondeaux was replaced because of his reputation as a boring fighter.
Rigondeaux-Casimero was arguably difficult to sell and Donaire was considered because he offers a more aggressive and entertaining style. There was also the lure of the Donaire-Casimero fight being a unification title fight.
The Donaire-Casimero fight will mark the first time in Philippine boxing history two Filipinos are taking part in a unification fight.
In the past, all-Pinoy title fights usually featured a champion and a challenger. In the case of Donaire and Casimero, both men will be entering the ring as champions. This is definitely a major upgrade.
Donaire and Casimero both want a fight with WBA-IBF champ Inoue. Unfortunately, instead of taking turns in facing Inoue, Donaire and Casimero will look to eliminate each other.
Somewhere out there, Inoue is smiling as he got a “free pass.”
Instead of fighting Donaire and Casimero, Inoue will only have to meet the winner of said pairing.
Donaire is taking the fight on short notice as he had just fought in May. But since he basically breezed past Oubaali, Donaire is in great shape to fight again. To reiterate, Donaire is fast tracking his bid to unify all the belts.
Casimero (30-4, 21 knockouts) has been training in beast mode even before the fight with Donaire was announced. Then again, Casimero will have to map out a new fight plan because Donaire is a different fighter compared to Rigondeaux.
Donaire (41-6, 27 knockouts) will be the most experienced and battle-tested opponent for the younger Casimero.
It will be interesting to see how Casimero will handle Donaire’s judicious counterpunching and lethal left hook. Donaire has been stopped only once and it took a big fighter, featherweight (126 lbs.) Nicolas Walters, to pull it off in 2014.
On the other hand, it will also be interesting to see how Donaire’s 38-year-old legs will hold against Casimero’s unorthodox style and immense pressure. Casimero is a slow starter but is a hell of a finisher once he gets his foe in trouble. Casimero loves to swarm all over his foe and has a knack for finding even the slightest opening for his power punches.
Casimero tends to be a bit reckless coming in but he has proven to be tough as nails. Like Donaire, Casimero has been knocked out only once and it happened in March 2011, when he was stopped by flyweight (112 lbs.) Moruti Mthalane in five rounds.
