By Ian S Palmer
WBO Bantamweight Champion Zolani Tete of South Africa will be defending his belt against Johnriel Casimero of the Philippines in Birmingham, England this Saturday, November 30th. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the USA on ESPN+ while those in the UK can catch it on BT Sport 2. Tete last fought in October of 2018 when he beat Mikhail Aloyan via a unanimous decision. Casimero was last in the ring in August when he stopped Cesar Ramirez in the 10th round to defend his interim WBO Bantamweight Crown.
The 31-year-old Tete is a southpaw who fought over 400 times as an amateur and reportedly lost just three times. He turned pro in 2006 and has 181 rounds under his belt since then. Tete has also won the WBF World, and WBO Africa Flyweight Title since turning pro along with the IBF World, and WBO Africa Super Flyweight Titles and the IBF International, and interim WBO World Bantamweight Titles. He’ll be climbing into the ring on Saturday with a record of 28-3 along with 21 Kos.
Tete has gone 5-1 in world title fights with 2 Ko’s and is 3-2 with 2 Ko’s against former or current world champions. His biggest wins have been against Victor Ruiz, Arthur Villanueva, Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr, Paul Butler and Omar Andres Narvaez with his losses coming to Moruti Mthalane, Juan Alberto Rosas (majority decision) and Roberto Domingo Sosa (split decision) with Mthalane being the only man to stop him, which he did in the fifth round back in 2010.
Tete stands 5-feet-9-inches tall and has a wingspan of 72 inches. He has better-than-average power with a current knockout ratio of 67.7 per cent and famously knocked out Siboniso Gonya in just 11 seconds after landing the first punch of the fight in November of 2017. Tete has been dropped a couple of times before and of course has been stopped, but he still has a relatively solid chin. He has plenty of experience, hasn’t been beaten since 2012 and has won his last 12 fights.
The 30-year-old Casimero climbs into the ring with a mark of 28-4 with 19 Kos. He made his pro debut in 2007 and has 216 rounds of experience under his belt. He’s gone 6-2 in world title fights with 4 Kos and is 4-3 with 3 Kos against former, current, and future world champions as he beat 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 formerly 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 which means he gives up five inches in height and eight inches in reach to Tete. He’s got decent power in his hands with a current knockout ratio of 59.4 per cent. He’s been stopped once like Tete, but also has a pretty reliable chin. He’s a solid and underrated pro who isn’t really known outside of Asia but has gone 9-3 with 6 Kos when boxing outside of his homeland.
Prediction…
Casimero should give Tete all he can handle and this is a solid matchup. However, with an eight-inch reach advantage and a five-inch edge in reach Tete should be able to use his boxing skills and the size advantage to retain his title.
