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    Purse reduction talk threatens Casimero-Inoue title unification match

    Casimero refusal could mean Inoue will have to fight somebody else, says Arum
    Jul 24, 2020
    Johnriel Casimero
    PHOTO: Alvin S. Go

    THE camp of Johnriel Casimero would like to have unbeaten Japanese champion Naoya Inoue in the U.S. first before talks of a reduced purse is discussed.

    Manny Pacquiao (MP) Promotions president Sean Gibbons said they have to wait for Inoue’s arrival in Las Vegas and see where negotiations would go from there.

    Casimero, 31, and the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight champion, has been in the U.S. since February, initially training in Miami, Florida before setting camp in Las Vegas just before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Meanwhile, Inoue, the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) title holder, has been holed up in Japan and according to his handler, Top Rank Promotions, is set for a U.S. departure by September.

    “We’re just waiting for Inoue to get here first, before we make any decisions on reductions or anything happening,” said Gibbons to ESPN.

    “The guy is not even in the country, we’ve been waiting four months for him to arrive. So let’s see the guy physically in the country, and then we’ll make some decisions on which way to go.”

    Gibbons’s statements were in reaction to Top Rank chairman Bob Arum’s proposal for Casimero (29-4, 20 KOs) to take a pay cut for his unification fight with Inoue to push through.

    Arum claims the 27-year-old Japanese (19-0, 16 KOs) agreed to have his purse reduced.

    “We have to talk to Casimero, is he willing to take a reduction like Inoue is?,” said the veteran promoter.

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    The two warriors were originally penciled for an April 25 showdown, but the fight was called off following the global pandemic.

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      With boxing in the U.S. back in business, Arum suggests to reduce the prize money of both Casimero and Inoue especially with the fight not expected to earn from gate receipts as it will be held behind closed doors.

      “Again, we talked to Casimero about a purse when the good times were rolling, and when Japanese high rollers were going to come in and watch the fight, and we could get enough money from the hotel casino to allow us to do it. That’s gone now,” said the Top Rank chairman.

      Refusal on the part of Casimero could mean Inoue will have to fight somebody else, according to Arum.

      “If the answer is no, then we can put Jason Maloney in with Inoue, which may be an even better fight,” Arum said,

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      Maloney (21-1, 18 KOs) is a 29-year-old challenger from Victoria, Australia who once vied for the IBF bantamweight championship but lost by split decision against Puerto Rican Emmanuel Rodriguez.

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      PHOTO: Alvin S. Go
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