Arum calls Casimero-Inoue off

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

It’s the end of Johnriel Casimero’s monster hunting.

Bob Arum, the big boss of Top Rank Promotions who handles the Casimero-Naoya “Monster” Inoue fight, confirmed on April 22, 2020, that the fight will no longer push through.

After an increase in patients testing positive for COVID-19 in Japan, Arum decided to call the highly-anticipated bout off to ensure both fighters’ safety amid the pandemic that’s continuing to wreak havoc across different nations.

“One thing we were considering is having Casimero go over to Japan and do that fight in Japan. At one point it appeared possible. It’s no longer possible. And Inoue won’t be able to come here anytime soon,” Arum explained.

Stuck in the USA since March 15 due to the pandemic, Casimero and his camp were all eyes in their blockbuster fight against the undefeated Japanese, training hard in anticipation for his career-defining bout.

With the recent cancelation of the fight, Arum said that the best option right now is to find Casimero another ideal opponent or help him go home once the crisis tones down.

As to who Casimero will fight, Top Rank promotions gave out some names with the likes of Joshua Greer, Jason Moloney, and Joseph Agbeko who are all top WBO contenders.