John Riel Casimero vs Fillipus Nghitumbwa Preview May 13th, 2023
Former junior flyweight, flyweight and bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero of the Philippines will be fighting for the WBO Global Super Bantamweight Title this Saturday, May 13th when he takes on champion Fillipus Nghitumbwa of Namibia. The 12-rounder from the Philippines can be seen live in FITE TV. The card is scheduled to begin at 11am over there, which is 11pm ET Friday night. Casimero last fought in December when he stopped veteran Ryo Akaho of Japan in the second round after being dropped himself earlier in the round. Nghitumbwa last saw action in October when he stopped Sabelo Ngebinyana in the 11th round to retain his title.
Casimero vs Nghitumbwa Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Fillipus Nghitumbwa +240
- John Riel Casimero -300
My Pick
The 34-year-old Casimero climbs into the ring with a mark of 32-4 with 22 Ko’s and has boxed 236 rounds since turning pro in 2007. He’s gone 9-2 in world title fights with 6 Ko’s and is 6-3 with 4 Ko’s against former, current, and future world champions as he has beaten Guillermo Rigondeaux, Zolani Tete, Luis Alberto Lazarte, Pedro Guevara, Amnat Ruenroeng and Charlie Edwards and was defeated by Ramon Garcia Hirales, Moruti Mthalane and Amnat Ruenroeng with Mthalane being the only man to stop him, which he did in five rounds in 2011.
Casimero’s other pro loss came at the hands of Jonas Sultan by 12-round unanimous decision in 2017. He’s also captured several regional and minor titles as a pro including the Philippines Boxing Federation Flyweight Title and the WBO Asia Pacific, Interim WBO and Interim IBF World Light Flyweight Titles. The former world champion previously held the IBF Light Flyweight Title from July 2012 to May 2014 and defended it three times as well as the IBF Flyweight Title from May to December 2016 which he defended once.
Casimero stands 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 64-inch reach and has pretty good power in his hands with a current knockout ratio of 61.1 per cent. He’s been stopped once, but has a pretty reliable chin. He’s a solid and underrated pro who isn’t really that well known outside of Asia but has gone 13-3 with 8 Ko’s when boxing outside of his homeland. He was supposed to unify the bantamweight title against Paul Butler but made himself sick trying to make the weight and the proposed bout never came off, leading him to move up in weight.
The 27-year-old Nghitumbwa will be fighting outside of Namibia as a pro for the first time while Casimerois fighting in his homeland for the first time in four years. He climbs into the ring with a mark of 12-1 with 11 Ko’s and has fought 47 rounds since turning pro in 2017 following a pretty good amateur career. It’s obvious Nghitumbwa has heavy hands as his current knockout ratio stands at an impressive 84.6 per cent. Eleven of his 12 wins have been by stoppage as his only victory that went the distance was a unanimous six-round decision over Jafet Amukwa in 2019.
The only blemish on Nghitumbwa’s record came in his pro debut when he dropped a six-round majority decision to Jonas Matheus. He won the vacant Global Super Bantamweight title in October, 2021 when he stopped Innocent Mantengu in the sixth round and has defended it twice. Nghitumbwa stnads 5-feet-5-inches tall with an unlisted reach, which gives him an inch edge in height over Casimero. He’s definitely taking a big step up in class against Casimero but undoubtedly has the power to make this an interesting contest.
Prediction…
The powerful Nghitumbwa is an unknown outside of Namibia while Casimero is a world class boxer and is hoping to become a four-weight world champion in the future. He can be careless at times though and has paid for it by being dropped to the canvas. Casimero can’t underestimate Nghitumbwa’s power but as long as his chin holds up I’m expecting Casimero to lift his younger opponent’s minor title this weekend.
A decent matchup with Casimero having the edge in experience.
Play Casimero -300 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Fillipus Nghitumbwa betting • John Riel Casimero betting