PHILIPPINE boxing just scored a massive knockout.
Johnriel Casimero and Nonito Donaire Jr. are set to tangle on August 14 in a first ever all-Filipino unification match for the world bantamweight championship.
The bout is set in Carson, California featuring two current Filipino world title holders considered among the best in the 118 pound division today.
The stakes are indeed, high in the match never before seen in the annals of local boxing as the winner is expected to be in a perfect position to become the undisputed bantamweight champion of the world.
"Done deal," said Sean Gibbons, president of Manny Pacquiao (MP) Promotions, which handles Casimero.
The 31-year-old Casimero was originally set to face Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux on the same date and defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) crown.
But Rigondeaux later agreed to step aside and allow Casimero to fight the 38-year-old Donaire, who recently wrested the World Boxing Council (WBC) version of the title with a fourth-round stoppage of France’s Nordine Oubaali.
Rigondeaux will reportedly get a shot at facing the winner of the Donaire-Casimero bout.
"The champ wants to become the first Filipino in history to unify all four belts," said Gibbons from Las Vegas on Saturday (Sunday, Manila time).
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