By Ian S Palmer
There’s a big bantamweight unification bout in Los Angeles this Saturday, August 14th as WBO Bantamweight Champion John Riel Casimero of the Philippines takes on the WBA regular boss Guilllermo Rigondeaux of Cuba. The fight can be seen live in America on Showtime while fans in Canada can catch it on TSN 2. Casimero defended his title for the first time in his last outing in September when he stopped Duke Micah in the third round. He won the crown in November, 2019 when he stopped Zolani Tete in the third round. Rigondeaux last boxed in February, 2020 when he edged Liborio Solis by a 12-round split decision for the vacant WBA title.
The 32-year-old Casimero climbs into the ring with a mark of 30-4 with 21 Kos. He’s gone 8-2 in world title fights with 6 Kos and is 5-3 with 4 Kos against former, current, and future world champions as he has also beaten Luis Alberto Lazarte, Pedro Guevara, Amnat Ruenroeng and Charlie Edwards and was defeated by Ramon Garcia Hirales, Moruti Mthalane and Amnat Ruenroeng with Mthalane being the only man to stop him, which he did in five rounds in 2011.
Casimero’s other pro loss came at the hands of Jonas Sultan by 12-round unanimous decision in 2017. He’s captured several regional and minor titles as a pro including the Philippines Boxing Federation Flyweight Title and the WBO Asia Pacific, Interim WBO and Interim IBF World Light Flyweight Titles. He’s also a former world champion as he previously held the IBF Light Flyweight Title from July 2012 to May 2014 and defended it three times as well as the IBF Flyweight Title from May to December 2016 which he defended once.
Casimero stands 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 64-inch reach. He’s got good power in his hands with a current knockout ratio of 61.8 per cent. He’s been stopped once, but also has a pretty reliable chin. He’s a solid and underrated pro who isn’t really that well known outside of Asia but has gone 11-3 with 7 Kos when boxing outside of his homeland. He made his pro debut in 2007 and has 222 rounds of experience under his belt.
Rigondeaux’s a two-time Olympic gold medalist who is now at the advanced age of 40 with a record of 20-1 with 13 Kos. He moved up a couple of weight classes to challenge Vasyl Lomachenko for the WBO Super Featherweight Title in December, 2017 but it was too much for him to handle and was stopped after six rounds for his lone career loss as a pro. However, the southpaw is still considered to be an elite boxer with good power.
It may seem his pro career has been wasted with just 21 fights but many opponents ducked him over the years and he’s also had promotional problems. He’s possesses excellent defensive skills which means he’s not the most exciting boxer around and he’ll be dropping down to the 118 lb bantamweight division for just the second time in his pro career. He stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a reach of 68 inches which gives him an inch edge in height on Casimero and four inches in reach.
Rigondeaux made his pro debut in 2009 and has boxed 122 rounds since. He was a longtime Super Bantamweight Champion who’s biggest pro wins have been over Nonito Donaire, Hishashi Amagasa, Joseph Agbeko, Rico Ramos and Sod Kokietgym. He has pretty good power with a current knockout ratio of 59.1 per cent but isn’t considered to be a KO artist.
Rigondeaux controls the ring in excellent fashion and is quite hard to hit but he’s often been accused of being over cautious. Still, he’s managed to stop 13 of his 21 opponents and seven of the last 14. Rigondeaux was an excellent amateur who won Olympic gold in 2000 and 2004 as well as seven Cuban titles and a pair of amateur world championships. He’s in the twilight of his career now and this could be his last fight before hanging up the gloves.
Prediction…
Casimero and Rigondeaux are both world class boxers but Rigondeaux is close to 41 years of age. However, he has plenty of experience and power but the all-out aggressive style of Casimero may be too much for him to handle. Rigondeaux definitely has the skills to win this fight but I think Casimero’s style will overwhelm him and take him out of his comfort zone. Therefore I’m expecting Casimero to retain his portion of the title with a win while a draw is also a possibility.
