CEBU, Philippines — A historic battle against fellow Pinoy world champion is in the offing for the reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight king Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire Jr.
No, not against the flamboyant John Riel “Quadro Alas” Casimero, the WBO titlist in the stacked 118-pound division.
As mandated by the WBC, Donaire (41-6, 27KOs) is expected to defend his belt against mandatory challenger Reymart “Assassin” Gaballo 24-0, 20KOs), the WBC interim champ, mostly like this December in the United States.
But while Donaire and Casimero were always at loggerheads on social media, both Donaire and Gaballo seemed to be civil and cordial.
They have nothing but respect and words of admiration for each other.
“I’m so happy and glad to fight my idol Nonito Donaire Jr. So hopefully it will be a good fight,” said Gaballo, 25, in a report by Ryan Songalia of ringtv.com, “This fight will make me happy because since I was a kid I watched him fight on TV. I didn’t expect I will fight Nonito.”
Gaballo, fighting out of JC Manangquil’s Sanman Gym based in General Santos City, earned a mandatory shot at Donaire’s crown after eking out a split decision win over Puerto Rico’s Emmanuel Rodriguez to claim the WBC interim title in December 2020.
The 38-year-old Donaire accorded Gaballo the same level of reverence.
“Reymart, I think he’s a great fighter,” said Donaire in a recent report by Eros Villanueva of ESPN5.
Donaire has indicated that if he gets past Gaballo, he will resume talks of a possible unification bout with Casimero.
“Right now, we (him and Casimero) are both mandated to fight our mandatories. After each of our fights, we can resume our talks,” Donaire continued.
That will only happen though if Casimero takes care of his business against Paul Butler of England in his upcoming WBO-ordered title defense.