International Boxing Organization (IBO) Bantamweight Champion Michael Dasmariñas. | Photo courtesy of Boxrec.com
CEBU CITY, Philippines— Boxing fans from all over the world will get a different showdown than what they expected. This after, the unbeaten WBA and IBF world bantamweight champion Naoya “Monster” Inoue won’t be facing Filipino WBO world bantamweight champion Johnriel “Quadro Alas” Casimero.
Instead, Inoue will be facing an unfamiliar Filipino boxing contender in Michael Dasmariñas on June 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the USA.
Casimero was considered Inoue’s best foe, and the former consistently challenged the latter to set their bout, but this never materialized.
However, Dasmariñas won’t be just another prey for Inoue. The 28-year-old Pili, Camarines Sur native is the reigning International Boxing Organization (IBO) world bantamweight champion.
Dasmariñas clinched the IBO world bantamweight title by knocking out Karim Guerfi of France in 2018 in Singapore. Dasmariñas won 13 of his last 15 bouts. His most previous defeat was against African Lwandile Sityatha for the IBO world super flyweight title held in East London, South Africa, in 2014. He had a draw over Ghanian Manyo Plange in 2018 in Singapore.
However, Inoue is still the favorite in this world title bout. He has a flawless record of 20-0-0 (win-loss-draw) with 17 knockouts. He is also known as a Filipino executioner, having beaten five-division world champion Nonito Donaire in a classic showdown in 2019 in Japan. He has also beaten Warlito Parrenas, Jerson Mancio, and Crison Omayao.
The 27-year-old Inoue’s most recent bout was against Australian Jason Moloney. He edged Moloney via unanimous decision to defend his two world title straps in MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
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