Sultan replaces Casimero, steps up vs Butler in interim contest


Jonas Sultan has stepped up against English boxer Paul Butler as a replacement for World Boxing Organization bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero.

Jonas Sultan (AFP)

Sultan and Butler will clash in an interim bantamweight contest on April 22, Friday at the Echo Arena in Liverpool following the approval of the WBO Championship Committee.

"The Interim Bantamweight Championship Bout Butler/Sultan is sanctioned subject to WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests," stated WBO Championship Committee chairman Luis Batista-Salas in a letter dated April 19.

The las-minute development was granted after Casimero figured in another issue after violating weight cut and medical guidelines set by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC).

The 32-year-old Casimero used a sauna just days prior to the title bout but this was prohibited by the BBBoC.

Upon violation, the BBBoC said it could not permit Casimero to "compete in the proposed contest on Friday" which eventually paved the way for Sultan, who is fresh from a unanimous decision win over Carlos Caraballo last October 2021.

Sultan, who holds an 18-5 record on top of 11 knockouts, also captured the vacant WBO Intercontinental bantamweight belt.

Casimero, for his part, has been issued another "Show Cause" order and was given 48 hours to address why the WBO bantamweight title shall not be declared as officially "vacant."