WBO strips Casimero of crown, promotes Butler to full champion

MANILA, Philippines – From champion to top contender.

That’s the fate John Riel Casimero suffered due to an infraction he committed before his supposed bantamweight title defense against Englishman challenger Paul Butler on April 22 (Saturday, April 23, Philippine time) in Liverpool, England.

Casimero was found to have used the sauna to shed weight, a violation of the rules of the British Boxing Board of Control, and ruled out of the bout relegated to an interim title fight and got replaced by fellow Filipino Jonas Sultan.

The WBO’s decision, which was dated May 3, also promoted Butler, who won over Sultan via unanimous decision, to full champion status.

“The Committee unanimously recommended to the WBO Executive Committee to strip John Riel Casimero’s WBO World Bantamweight Championship Title for failure to comply with the conditions set forth in its ‘Resolution,’” the WBO Championship Committee’s resolution read.

The resolution was then unanimously adopted by the WBO Executive Committee.

Apparently, the committee also considered that Casimero had likewise failed to defend his crown against Butler in December in Dubai, UAE. That time, Casimero was unable to appear at the official weigh-in allegedly due to viral gastritis.

The WBO ruled in Casimero’s favor at that time, but warned him another violation, whether intended or not, would merit punishment.

Despite his loss to Butler, Sultan is still ranked No. 4 by the WBO with another Filipino, Vincent Astrolabio, rated No. 7. – Rappler.com