They were the ones supposed to fight in the first place.
Johnriel Casimero and Guillermo Rigondeaux will tangle on Saturday, August 14 (Sunday, August 15, Philippine time) after Nonito Donaire withdrew from the all-Filipino unification bout.
The Casimero-Rigondeaux tussle is now reposted on the Premier Boxing Champions website, indicating the fight between Casimero, the World Boxing Organization bantamweight champion, and Donaire, the World Boxing Council titlist, is now officially off.
Originally, Casimero had Rigondeaux, the two-time Olympic champion from Cuba as his opponent. Then Donaire entered the picture and forged what could have been a historic bout between reigning Filipino champions.
Less than two weeks later, Donaire and his wife/trainer/manager Rachel, canceled their end of the deal.
Reasons: Casimero allegedly did not comply to their demand of VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association) and Casimero’s camp disrespected Donaire’s family, especially his wife.
The Donaires demanded a public apology although it turned out they have already pulled the plug on the Showtime headliner.
With this development, Casimero will have to tweak his training in Las Vegas under Jorge Capetillo and strength and conditioning guru Memo Heredia to suit the style of Rigondeaux.
Rigondeaux may not be as strong as a puncher like Donaire but is a wily technical fighter.
The fact is, Rigondeaux beat a prime Donaire in 2013 when they collided at 122 pounds.
At 40 years old, however, Rigondeaux may not be as sneaky and sleeky as before and may fall prey to Casimero’s power punches.
In interviews in Manila, before he left for the United States, Casimero regarded his clash with Rigondeaux as an “easy fight” and predicted to win by knockout within 6 rounds. – Rappler.com
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