Martin dares Inoue, Casimero

WBO No. 1 superbantamweight Carl Jammes Martin isn’t worried about getting smacked by either the Japanese “Monster” Naoya Inoue or the heavy-handed “Quadro Alas” JohnRiel Casimero. “Kaya ko suntok nila at kaya ko silang talunin,” boasted Martin in a taped interview on a soon-to-be-announced TV talk show last Sunday.

Martin, 27, is in a spot where he stands next in line to challenge Inoue or face Casimero in an all-Filipino showdown. Inoue is the undisputed 122-pound king, recognized by WBO, WBC, WBA and IBF. Casimero is ranked No. 4 by WBO. Junto Nakatani is No. 2 and coming off a loss to Inoue. Sam Goodman is No. 3 and set to take on Ryosuke Nishida for the interim IBF superbantamweight crown. With Nakatani recuperating and Goodman unavailable, Casimero is the logical choice to battle Martin for the vacant WBO throne if Inoue relinquishes and moves up in weight.

Martin said he’s confident of beating the three-time world champion who’s now 37. “Malaki ang respeto ko kay Casimero,” he added. “Magaling siya, matapang at malakas.” But if ever they clash, Martin said there’s no way he loses. Neither Casimero nor Inoue, however, is in Martin’s order of battle at the moment. He’s slated to engage Mexican David Picasso on Oct. 23 in Riyadh and a win could lead to a world title shot.

Picasso, 25, lost to Inoue on points in Riyadh last December. His record is 32-1-1, with 17 KOs compared to Martin’s 28-0, with 21 KOs. Picasso has never fought a Filipino. Martin has fought three Mexicans and beaten them all, including two in Mexico by KO. The Ifugao “Wonder Boy” has also turned back fighters from China, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and Tanzania.

In a few days, Martin will head for Los Angeles where he starts training for Picasso with coach Marvin Somodio. MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons booked the Picasso match on the undercard of the WBC supermiddleweight title fight between Cameroon champion Christian Mbilli and Canelo Alvarez. Aside from Martin, the other Filipino No. 1 contenders are WBO superfeatherweight Charly Suarez, IBF flyweight Miel Fajardo, WBC minimumweight Melvin Jerusalem and WBO minimumweight Vic Saludar so they’re all due for world title cracks as mandatory challengers.