GAB to Casimero: Shape up, please

The leadership of the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) said it is hoping that the one-year suspension slapped by the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) on Johnriel Casimero should make the Filipino fighter realize that his recent antic was not to be scoffed at.

“Sana matauhan na sya (I hope he learns his lesson),” Rivera, a lawyer, told DAILY TRIBUNE on Saturday, stressing that Casimero’s misadventure in Yokohama and his one-year ban is costly.

Casimero came in overweight in his non-title fight with American Saul Sanchez last Sunday but the Leyte-born banger made up for his shortcoming by destroying his foe in less than a round.

In a post-fight interview held on top of the ring, Casimero called out pound-for-pound king Naoya “Monster” Inoue and brushed off his inability to meet the contracted weight of 122 lbs, saying the Sanchez bout was a non-title fight anyway.

The JBC immediately took action by coming out with the decision to suspend the three-division world champion the following day, a move that didn’t sit well with Casimero’s followers, who saw it as a way to shield Inoue from ever facing their idol.

Rivera said promoters could eventually craft a customized contract to protect them from a possible repeat of Casimero’s weighin woes if they decide to promote his fight.

Meanwhile, renowned Japanese boxing man and Hall of Famer Joe Koizumi, who also dabbles in boxing reporting, likewise expressed disappointment over Casimero’s caper.

“Scandalous” was how Koizumi described Casimero’s acts in the Yokohama event that “our (Japanese) aficionados paid little attention to” since it took place on the same day a festival of world championship matches had taken place in Tokyo.

“Casimero, Zolani Tete’s conqueror, is eager to get a lucrative world title shot for a good payday, but he seems to diminish that possibility by himself,” wrote Koizumi on fightnews.

Casimero, who turns 36 years old in February next year, is now back in his hometown of Ormoc, Leyte.