John Riel Casimero tore the WBO bantamweight title from Zolani Tete courtesy of a stunning KO win back in November of last year, and the Filipino puncher was convinced he would do a similar job on “Monster” Naoya Inoue. The fight, an expected explosion of a bantamweight unification showdown, was set for April. Then the coronavirus set about ruining just about everything.
The fight was hoped to be saved for a later date, but now Casimero has moved on. For now. The 31-year-old with the 29-4(20) record still wants to fight the Japanese star, but for now, he has a September date all set. As per a news story from Ringtv.com, Casimero will face unbeaten Duke Micah of Ghana on September 26th. The fight will take place on the card headlined by the Charlos, Jermall (against Jeison Rosario), and Jermell (against Sergiy Derevyanchenko) in Uncasville.
The upcoming card has quite an exciting look about it. The Charlos are, of course, the big names here, but Casimero is always worth watching due to his aggressive style, and because of his power. This is why fans were especially looking forward to seeing Casimero go to war with Inoue. That fight may still happen, says Sean Gibbons, President of MP Promotions, but for now it’s Micah, 24-0(19).
“Duke Micah is like a lot of other fighters from Ghana. He comes right at you, hands high, wants to bang, solid fundamentals, and I can guarantee somebody is getting knocked out, one way or the other,” Gibbons said of the September fight. “You don’t gotta find this guy, that’s what’s great about this fight.”
And if Casimero comes through okay, there are a lot of possible options open to him, as Gibbons explained to Ring.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiK0h2Cu6-o
“He’s shown interest in Guillermo Rigondeaux, he’d love an all-Filipino match with Nonito Donaire if he’s successful with Nordine Oubaali (who Donaire will challenge for the WBC bantamweight title in December), and of course there’s that guy we were supposed to fight, Inoue,” Gibbons said. “So Casimero has a lot of avenues he can go at 118 and 122, but we’re not looking past Duke Micah.”
Maybe the Casimero-Micah shoot-out will prove to the fight of the night on September 26th. Casimero, a three-weight champion (light-fly, fly, bantamweight), deserves to be a far bigger name than he currently is. Micah, known as “The Baby Faced Terminator,” is as hungry as can be. It really does look like a can’t-miss fight.
