Edwards out to shock the world

MANILA, Philippines - Challenger Charlie Edwards knows he’s up against a hard-hitting veteran in defending IBF flyweight champion Johnriel (Tata) Casimero but even as the English fighter has logged only eight bouts, his manager Danny Vaughn is convinced there will be a new titleholder when the smoke of battle clears at the O2 Arena in London early this morning (Manila time).

Edwards, 23, is unbeaten with an 8-0 record, including three KOs, while Casimero, 26, has a 22-3 slate, with 14 KOs. When it comes to experience, they’re worlds apart. But Edwards said Casimero is tailor-made for his style.

“As soon as we knew we could have the fight, I ran it past Danny who looked at me and said, ‘You’re going to be the IBF champion that night … you will beat him, I’m telling you now, you’ve got every attribute to beat him, he’s quite solid with both hands but the way you box, if you box to orders, we will put in a performance and shock the world,’” Edwards told John Dennen of Boxing News. “Casimero hasn’t fought since he won the title last May. He’s had a lot of time out. He might have some ring rust. I’m looking to push on and go full throttle.”

Casimero’s trainer Jhun Agrabio said stamina won’t be a problem when the bell rings. Casimero went through over 100 rounds of sparring with six different fighters in preparing for Edwards and he’s in perfect shape, added Agrabio. At the weigh-in last Friday, Casimero tipped the scales at 111.5 pounds while Edwards checked in at 111.6.

Casimero said he’ll unveil his new weapon, the Pokemon Pikachu knockout punch, against Edwards. However, he declined to describe what it is. Agrabio said the strategy to beat Edwards is a secret he’s keeping close to his chest. “We’ll surprise Edwards,” said Agrabio. “Edwards has some power but not much. Tata has power in both hands. We expect Edwards to throw a lot of punches from distance. If he’ll do volume punching, we’ll do it, too. Both are talented fighters. Tata will match his speed and stamina but I don’t think Edwards can match Tata’s power.”

Casimero used to be the IBF lightflyweight champion but lost it on the scales in his defense against Colombian Mauricio Fuentes in Cebu two years ago. He weighed in 5 3/4 pounds over the limit and was stripped of the title. The fight went on and if Fuentes won, he would’ve been the new champion. As it turned out, Casimero scored a first round knockout and the throne remained vacant. That was Casimero’s last fight with trainer Pingping Tepora. He switched to Agrabio for his next outing which was a second round stoppage of Armando Santos in Mexico late that year.  “Tata was distracted while training for Fuentes,” said Agrabio. “There were problems in the gym, problems with his family. But now, everything’s fine. Tata’s very focused. He worked hard to win the IBF flyweight title and won’t give it up easily.”

Casimero’s manager Sammy Gello-ani said he couldn’t be happier with the fighter’s progress. “He’s planning for the future,” said Gello-ani. “He’s still single. He built a house for his parents in Ormoc and put up a piggery with three sows. He wants to open a boxing gym in Manila. He takes care of his brother Jason and a sister who’s a policewoman. He doesn’t spend frivolously. He’s a role model for boxers.”

While Casimero isn’t looking beyond Edwards, Agrabio said there are now plans to either unify the flyweight championship or move up to the superflyweight division where big money fights are in the horizon. A showdown with Nicaraguan sensation Roman (Chocolatito) Gonzalez is a potential box office hit.

But Edwards isn’t impressed. He said Casimero was lucky to knock out Amnat Ruenroeng in their rematch in Beijing last May. The year before, Amnat outpointed Casimero on a disputed decision that prompted the IBF to retain the Filipino as the No. 1 contender and order a mandatory defense in a rematch.

 “In my opinion, Amnat beat him in their first fight quite widely on the scorecards,” said Edwards. “Amnat going into their rematch, I don’t think he would have been training as hard. Not only that, he’s just qualified for the Olympics at 60 kilos so that sums up to me there was some issue with weight there. That’s 10 kilos near enough difference. So there must have been some issues where he got knocked out and it was a bit of a phantom punch out of nowhere. So this opportunity, so early in my career, I jumped at it. I’m in a no-lose situation. If I go out there and I’m out of my depth, it’s just too early for me and I’ll hold my hands up. But I really fancy my chances. I’m really going to give it my everything. I can’t see anything else but me taking that title from him.”

Edwards said the only way he’ll lose is by knockout. “I’m going to make it awkward and horrible in there for him,” he said. “He’s going to have looked at me and think eight fights, it’s going to be an easy night here. It’s a hype job from England. But when he steps in that right, he’s going to know it’s real. The only way I’m going to get beat is if he catches me and knocks me out. I’m going into this fight 100 percent switched on. I know I’m not going to get caught. I’m going to be so on the ball that every mistake he makes, I’m going to counter. I’m not going to be falling in or letting my shots go wild. It’s going to be all to gameplan. We’re really taking this seriously and I think I can become world champion after my ninth fight, so quickly and out of nowhere, I’m just buzzing with it.”