By Nick Giongco
World boxing champion John Riel Casimero is not cut out from the mold of the typical Filipino athlete.
Casimero is neither soft-spoken, humble nor timid.
WBO bantamweight champ John Riel Casimero and US matchmaker Sean Gibbons hold a press conference on Wednesday in Manila with a standee of Japanese Naoya Inoue. Casimero and Inoue are facing off April 25 in Las Vegas. (Nick Giongco)
In fact, Casimero, the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight titlist is vocal, boastful and outgoing.
Asked what he thinks of Naoya Inoue, the big-hitting Japanese champion of the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF), Casimero sounded unimpressed.
“He’s (Inoue) got a bit of power,” said Casimero, who battles Inoue on April 25 in Las Vegas, brushing off Inoue’s renowned power.
Reminded that Inoue took Nonito Donaire's best shots in their thrill-a-second slugfest late last year, Casimero, again, sounded the least surprised.
“We’ll see if he can take mine,” he added.
Casimero had always been supremely confident of his own brand of firepower and regards himself as the strongest of all residing in the 118-lb backyard.
Still, Casimero is not dismissing Inoue as somebody who’s going to pass out the moment he answers the bell at the Mandalay Bay.
Casimero just arrived in Miami for a three-week strength and conditioning stint with Memo Heredia, the same guy who prepared Juan Manuel Marquez against Manny Pacquiao in Dec. 2012.
Inoue, meanwhile, is already deep in training camp in Japan and is expected to land in America three weeks before the fight.