Ohashi open to staging Inoue Vs Casimero in Japan
One of the biggest boxing casualties in boxing from the current on going situation was the triple title Bantamweight unification bout between WBA and IBF champion Naoya Inoue (19-0, 16) [井上 尚弥] and WBO champion John Riel Casimero (29-4, 20). The bout, originally scheduled for April 25th, was postponed indefinitely due to the on going global situation.
Whilst this did lead to some teasing from Casimero and his team about Inoue being scared of the "Monster Killer", it did slowly become quite apparent that the postponement has had to become increasingly frustrating for both camps.
What had been an April date then got pencilled in for Summer, with August and September both being mentioned as possibilities. Now, with the situation getting progressively worse in the US, it seems like those months may also be unavailable for a fight of this magnitude. The bout would not only see teams of both men coming from one side of the globe to another, but also likely need fans and gamblers to be in the US to make the event cost effective.
At the moment it's hard to imagine an event in the US having fans in attendance before October or November, at the earliest, and even those numbers could be a fraction of a capacity crowd.
With that said it's interesting to note that Hideyuki Ohashi, who runs the Ohashi gym that Inoue fights out of, has stated that he hopes the bout could take place this year and pointed out that Japan was a real possibility for the bout, adding that they could get a venue that could accommodate over 10,000.
Although it's not a given that the bout would in Inoue's homeland it seems like the "Monster's" team are looking as possibilities to hold the bout this year, and are still very keen on facing Casimero before the end of 2020 even if the bout can't be in the US, as first hoped.
Whilst this did lead to some teasing from Casimero and his team about Inoue being scared of the "Monster Killer", it did slowly become quite apparent that the postponement has had to become increasingly frustrating for both camps.
What had been an April date then got pencilled in for Summer, with August and September both being mentioned as possibilities. Now, with the situation getting progressively worse in the US, it seems like those months may also be unavailable for a fight of this magnitude. The bout would not only see teams of both men coming from one side of the globe to another, but also likely need fans and gamblers to be in the US to make the event cost effective.
At the moment it's hard to imagine an event in the US having fans in attendance before October or November, at the earliest, and even those numbers could be a fraction of a capacity crowd.
With that said it's interesting to note that Hideyuki Ohashi, who runs the Ohashi gym that Inoue fights out of, has stated that he hopes the bout could take place this year and pointed out that Japan was a real possibility for the bout, adding that they could get a venue that could accommodate over 10,000.
Although it's not a given that the bout would in Inoue's homeland it seems like the "Monster's" team are looking as possibilities to hold the bout this year, and are still very keen on facing Casimero before the end of 2020 even if the bout can't be in the US, as first hoped.