Is John Riel Casimero Going To Face Nonito Donaire Next?

Are we inches away from a undisputed bantamweight champion?

WBO Bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero, WBC Bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire
John Riel Casimero (left), Nonito Donaire

Are we inches away from a undisputed bantamweight champion?


It appears that some major moves are currently being made in the bantamweight division. According to Michael Coppinger of the Athletic, Guillermo Rigondeaux has agreed to step aside from his upcoming bout. Rigondeaux was supposed to dance with WBO World Bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero (30-4, 21 KO’s) on August 14, 2021. Instead, while unconfirmed, it’s seriously looking like Casimero will now go head-to-head with Nonito Donaire (41-6, 27 KO’s).

A source states Guillermo Rigondeaux will step aside to allow a unification fight between John Riel Casimero and Nonito Donaire
A source states Guillermo Rigondeaux will step aside to allow a unification fight between John Riel Casimero and Nonito Donaire

The initial impetus of this bout was put in motion when Donaire stopped Nordine Oubaali to capture the WBC World Bantamweight title. Once done, a unification bout against new champion Donaire sounded far sexier than a mere title defense versus Rigondeaux. To further strengthen this implication, Donaire recently took to his social media to reveal that he had a big pending announcement himself.

Nonito Donaire confirms he has big news coming up
Nonito Donaire confirms he has big news coming up

THE BRAWL FOR IT ALL!

Provided that Donaire versus Casimero is the fight being planned, then the winner would only be one fight away from undisputed. There has not been an undisputed bantamweight champion since Enrique Pinder in 1973, when it was still a two belt era. So it goes without saying that this would be something of a big deal! Beyond fighting for undisputed itself, both Donaire and Casimero have invested interest in locking horns with WBA Super World Bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (20-0, 17 KO’s).

Casimero has been trying lock in a fight with Inoue for quite some time. The skillful fighter has remained hellbent on getting that fight since capturing the WBO title in 2019. Donaire would love to face Inoue so that he could extract a measure of revenge. The two staged a wildly entertaining and brutal fight which Inoue won by way of unanimous decision back on November 7, 2019.

So let’s hope that this is the direction that the division is going in. These would not only be a number of competitive and entertaining bouts, they would be meaningful and have historical significance. Regardless of how everything plays out, 3kingsboxing will be there to report the news.

By: Bakari Simpson

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About Bakari S.3114 Articles
Bakari is a Senior Writer for 3kingsboxing.com. Visit cheetahhead.com to view more of his literary work.