Casimero vows to send Rigondeaux into retirement

CEBU, Philippines —  In a hardline rhetoric, Filipino WBO bantamweight king John Riel “Quadro Alas” Casimero (30-4, 21KOs) has vowed to put an end to the storied career of two-division world champion Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux (20-1-1, 13KOs) of Cuba after their August 14 title showdown at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Casimero, 31, is back to face Rigondeaux as originally scheduled after his unification bout with countryman Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire Jr., the WBC crown-holder, collapsed following their nasty public spats.

“Nonito Donaire didn’t want to fight me but that’s okay. Donaire is easy for me. Now, I have Rigondeaux and I know he’s very experienced. He’s a two-division world champion and a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist. This will be a great fight,” said Casimero in a virtual press conference yesterday.

“Rigondeaux has a much different style from Donaire. I’m actually much more excited to fight Rigondeaux because Donaire is scared of me. I don’t think Rigondeaux is scared. If he’s not scared, he better fight me and not run,” added the Ormoc City native power-hitter.

Aside from training hard, Casimero said he also studied Rigondeaux’s styles carefully. From that, he formulated a belief that Rigondeaux will enter the boxing ring for the last time in his career after their fight.

“When I beat Rigondeaux on August 14, he’s going to retire. He’s finished. Finito!” boldly declared Casimero, a three-weight world titlist.

The 40-year-old Rigondeaux, however, is unfazed, saying there isn’t any element of Casimero that send shivers down his spines. He even challenged his Pinoy rival to walk the talk.

“I’m not worried about Casimero’s power or anything he brings. I’ve fought in three divisions and I’ve gone after the biggest challenges every time. I’m just not worried about what Casimero will do in the ring,” said Rigondeaux, who beat Donaire by unanimous decision during their WBO/WBA super bantamweight unification match on April 13, 2013 in New York.

“He says he’s going to retire me, so it’s on now. We’ll see if he’s able to back up that talk on August 14,” the Cuban added. “Casimero is a good opponent. Every opponent that I face believes that they can beat me, but the pressure is on them to back that up. I can only control what I bring and I know I’m going to be ready.”