Casimero not on Top Rank’s radar

It doesn’t look like three-division world champion Johnriel Casimero is on Top Rank’s radar screen even after his smashing first-round knockout win over the weekend in Yokohama, Japan.

“Nope,” Top Rank’s vice president for operations Carl Moretti told DAILY TRIBUNE when asked if the flashy Filipino is being considered as a potential foe of Naoya “Monster” Inoue, who the Las Vegas-based outfit promotes.

Casimero took the spotlight last Sunday when he destroyed Saul Sanchez of the United States in a scheduled 10-round super-bantamweight bout.

But questions about Casimero’s professionalism surfaced when he failed to make weight twice during the official weighin.

The Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) then allowed the fight to proceed after he came in a shade below the mandated 128-lb limit on the day of the fight.

Immediately after his latest victory, Casimero, 35, called out Inoue even as he defended his failure to make the weight since the bout with Sanchez didn’t have a title at stake.

Still, Casimero made the assurance that if he is given a shot at a world crown, he will make sure that he will make weight.

Inoue, acknowledged as the world’s No. 1 fighter pound-for-pound, is scheduled to defend his undisputed status against Sam Goodman of Australia on 24 December in Tokyo.

If he gets past Goodman, the plan is for Inoue to face Junto Nakatani in May 2025.

Nakatani is regarded as Japan’s best boxer next to Inoue and is the world champion at bantamweight, making their showdown the biggest bout in the country’s history.

Meanwhile, Casimero will have to make do with what’s going to be offered to him in the coming months as there are reports that the JBC will slap him a one-year suspension for coming in overweight against Sanchez.

Casimero turns 36 in February 2025.