Inoue vs Casimero press conference

Filipino boxing champion John Riel Casimero believes that his upcoming fight against Japan's Naoya Inoue in Las Vegas is the one that will finally allow him to break the glass ceiling and be a star in boxing.

Although he is a three-division champion who currently holds the World Boxing Organization bantamweight title, Casimero is largely an unknown in the US market. Meanwhile, Inoue has been all over the media because of his fan-friendly style of boxing. Casimero knows that this is an opportunity of a lifetime and he's taking a step up in opposition knowing that the attention Inoue is getting could be his if he emerges victorious.

"I don't fear him," Casimero (29-4, 20 KOs) said boldly about the April 25 unification fight with Inoue, who holds the WBA and IBF versions of the bantamweight title and is ranked fourth in ESPN's pound-for-pound list. "Anyone in my weight division, I'm open to fighting because I think I'm the strongest fighter at 118."

Last November, Casimero took on one of the best fighters in the division in South African Zolani Tete and knocked him out in the third round. Tete had not lost since 2012 but it took Casimero one punch to change the complexion of the match.



"Against Inoue, we're still in the process of forming our game plan. We prepared really hard for the fight against Tete but that game plan was just for him," Casimero explained during a press conference held Wednesday afternoon at a hotel in Manila. "The training we had, we looked for ways and angles to hit him. We figured out what his style was and we trained for it."

The Ormoc City native knows that it will take even more effort and preparation to beat Inoue (19-0, 16 KOs), and that is why he'll be flying out Thursday to Miami.

According to MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons, Casimero will focus on his strength and conditioning first.

"Casimero will be training with Angel 'Memo' Heredia and we really believe in what he does. We've seen the results, some for us and some against us," Gibbons said, pertaining to the fact that Heredia was in the corner of Juan Manuel Marquez when he knocked out Manny Pacquiao in 2012. While in Miami, Casimero will also train with Sanman Promotions fighters Reymart Gaballo and Mike Plania.


For Gibbons, this fight is also the fulfillment of Casimero's dream to fight in Las Vegas.

"He's fought in 10 different countries throughout his career but he's always dreamed of fighting in Las Vegas where his idol Senator Manny Pacquiao had his best fights," Gibbons said. "And you won't find a bigger match up from 130 pounds below than Casimero versus Inoue. It's his dream fight and it's time to go monster hunting."

Casimero, who turns 31 next week, is still in the prime of his career right now and he knows a lot of options will open up if he defeats the 26-year-old Inoue. A mission he wants to accomplish is to collect all of the belts in the bantamweight division, which means he'll pursue a fight against the winner of Nordine Oubaali and Nonito Donaire for the WBC belt.

Asked about the prospects of facing another Filipino, Casimero was completely open to the idea.

"It's not a problem. It's a job," said Casimero. "It would be a good fight if it will be an all-Filipino battle between me and Nonito."

Donaire was the left victim of The Monster from Japan in their November unification fight that was the consensus Fight of the Year, but Gibbons is convinced that Inoue made a mistake by accepting the challenge of Casimero after a hard-fought win in his last fight.

"Donaire was a great fighter before but he's already 37 years old. Casimero is in his prime and so is Inoue, which makes this a really good fight," he said. For Gibbons, chasing the WBC belt is an option, but a rematch against Inoue should be the priority for Casimero if he wins just to return the favor.

"I don't think he (Inoue) realizes what he's getting into. He picked the wrong Filipino to fight. Casimero is coming to get the titles," Gibbons stated as he also added that they will negotiate with television networks to make sure that the fight will be aired on free television.

https://tv5.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/28638253/casimero-fear-inoue-says-best-118

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I think Inoue could be in trouble because Casimero has form here

Casimero TKO 10 Charlie Edwards

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