John Riel Casimero vs Saul Sanchez Preview October 13th, 2024
Former junior flyweight, flyweight and bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero of the Philippines travels to Yokohama, Japan this Sunday, October 13th to take on Saul Sanchez of Encino, California in a 10-round junior featherweight bout. Casimero last fought in October when he battled to a four-round technical draw with Yukinori Oguni. Sanchez last saw action in July when he beat Arthur Villaneuva via am eight-round unanimous decision.
Casimero vs Sanchez Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Saul Sanchez +115
- John Riel Casimero -145
My Pick
The 35-year-old Casimero climbs into the ring with a mark of 33-4-1 with 22 Ko’s and has boxed 252 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 WBO Global Super Bantamweight Crown, 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 as 66.7 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. He’s been stopped once himself, 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 13-3-1 with 8 Ko’s when boxing outside of his homeland. He was supposed to unify the bantamweight title against Paul Butler a couple of years ago but made himself sick trying to make the weight and the proposed bout never came off, leading him to move up in weight.
As for Sanchez, he’s 27 years old and has fought 126 rounds since making his pro debut in 2016. As an amateur he reached the 2013 USA Junior National Championships Quarterfinals and the 2014 USA Youth National Championships Quarterfinals. He makes the ring walk with a mark of 21-3 with 12 Ko’s and has captured the vacant WBO Latino Bantamweight title as a pro with an eighth-round stoppage of Brandon Leon Benitez in 2019. Sanchez has also won the vacant WBA Fedecentro Bantamweight and Super Bantamweight Titles during his career.
Sanchez measures 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 66-inch reach so is an inch taller than Casimero with a two-inch edge in reach. He had a shot at the WBO Bantamweight Title in January but was edged by majority decision by Jason Moloney. His first pro loss came at the hands of Edwin Rodriguez by 10-round split decision in 2019 and his second defeat was to Eros Correa by 10-round split decision in 2022. His biggest wins have come against Ernesto Guerrero, Daniel Lozano, Mario Hernandez, Frank Gonzalez, Jose Estrella and Franklin Gonzalez. Sanchez isn’t known as a power puncher as 57.1 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage and he’s gone the distance in three of his last four outings.
Prediction…
Although he’s now 35 years old, Casimero is still a dangerous puncher and world-class boxer who 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 in the past. Sanchez’s three defeats were by two split decisions and a majority decision so it’s obvious he’s been in every fight but just failed to get over the hump in his losses. Casimero is eight years older than Sanchez and he’s going to have his hands full here. However, if he’s in peak condition and at his best he should be able to do enough to have his hand raised.
A good matchup with Casimero having the edge in experience and power.
Play Casimero -145 @ BetOnline.ag
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John Riel Casimero betting • Saul Sanchez betting