JOHN Riel Casimero’s big loss is compatriot Jonas Sultan’s great gain.
With Casimero unable to defend his World Boxing Organization bantamweight title for violating medical rules of the British Boxing Board of Control, Sultan has entered the picture and will battle Briton Paul Butler for the WBO interim bantamweight belt at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England today.
As the No. 3 contender in the WBO weight division and reigning WBO Intercontinental bantam champ, Sultan stepped into Casimero’s shoes after the latter was barred from defending his crown for using a sauna to lose weight too close to the fight date.
Promoter Probellum issued a statement late Wednesday night after the BBBoC’s ruling “that it will follow the official rulings of the WBO and the BBBoC and that Paul Butler will not fight John Riel Casimero for the WBO bantamweight championship title.”
It will be a huge break for Sultan, a Cebu City native known for his moniker “One Punch,” who drew the Puerto Rico-based ring body’s attention with his impressive unanimous decision win over erstwhile unbeaten Puerto Rican Carlos Caraballo last Oct. 30 at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
Unbeaten since moving up to the 118-pound division, Sultan, 31, enters the ring with 18 wins, 15 by knockout, while Butler, 33, sports a record of 33 wins (15 KOs) against two losses, and is on a seven-match winning streak.
