Japan’s Naoya Inoue is still undefeated after becoming the undisputed super bantamweight world champion following his knockout win over Filipino boxer, Marlon Tapales. Tapales, who has held multiple championships in the past, failed to defend his IBF super bantamweight belt against the Japanese superstar. However, fans believe there are a couple of Filipino boxers who should take on Inoue and give him his first defeat. It’s been a long time coming, but is it really high time to put Mark Magsayo or John Riel Casimero to the challenge?
HE'S DONE IT AGAIN 👑
NAOYA INOUE. 2X UNDISPUTED CHAMPION. pic.twitter.com/eMkqg8aqEg
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) December 26, 2023
Casimero still believes he’s the only one that can beat Inoue
John Riel “Quadro Alas” Casimero has been calling out Inoue for many years now, but their highly-anticipated fight hasn’t materialized yet. Casimero and Inoue were supposed to face each other in 2020, unfortunately, the COVID-19 Pandemic struck and the fight was canceled. A year later, the Leyte native would become sensational after calling out Inoue and his fellow Filipino fighter, Nonito Donaire. Casimero even went on to say that they’re “afraid” of him. In the last couple of years, the former three-division world champion is still out there trying to organize a fight with Inoue.
John Riel Casimero is still hoping to make a fight with Naoya Inoue, challenging the undisputed junior featherweight champion for a fight after he completes his WBC mandatory against Luis Nery pic.twitter.com/pFMfKnN5jy
— Ryan Songalia (@ryansongalia) December 26, 2023
Last year, Casimero was stripped of his WBO world bantamweight title after allegedly violating the British Boxing Board of Control rules for using a sauna to remove some weight a week before his scheduled fight against Paul Butler. Eventually, he would bounce back from that controversy and win the WBO Global title against Fillipus Nghitumbwa of Namibia in Manila. He came back to the ring 17 months later to fight Yukinori Oguni, but it resulted in a draw. Casimero currently holds a record of 33-4-1 but still vows to finally get a chance to step into the ring with Naoya Inoue and take the latter’s bantamweight belt.
Magsayo has shown to be very capable of being Naoya Inoue’s next opponent
After his stellar performance earlier this month wherein Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo defeated Isaac Avelar via knockout, fans are already putting his name as the next guy who could dance with Inoue in the boxing ring. Magsayo delivered a combination of strong punches in the third round capping with a left hook to Avelar’s chin that would send the Mexican to sleep. A few moments later, the referee declared that the fight was over with just about a minute left in the match. Avelar would later be helped off the ring via stretcher as a precaution. On the other hand, Magsayo improved his record to 25 wins (17 of which are knockouts) and 2 losses.
Mark Magsayo scored a spectacular knockout last night over Isaac Avelar and sent a message to the entire super featherweight division. #cbnpromotions #markmagsayo #boxing pic.twitter.com/L0dMJJpeF6
— CBN Promotions (@CBNPromotions) December 10, 2023
Magsayo, who previously held the WBC featherweight title, lost his last two fights before finally regaining his composure after taking down Avelar. The 28-year-old’s recent fight is his debut in the super featherweight division and believes that he’s ready to go up against the top dogs in the 130-pound group. According to Magsayo, he and his camp will be staying in Los Angeles, California to train for another fight in April 2024. Moreover, he mentioned that he will be ready for a title bout once again in 2025.
Who deserves to fight Inoue?
Both Magsayo and Casimero seem to have proven that they’re worthy opponents for Inoue. However, fans, analysts, and pundits alike believe that the Japanese Monster would easily beat Casimero. In context, Inoue is ranked the second-best pound-for-pound boxer today by The Ring Magazine while Casimero has fallen off the rankings in the bantamweight division after the latter’s controversy in 2022. After their canceled bout, the gap between Inoue and Casimero grew larger as the former continued to surprise the world of boxing.
On the other hand, Magsayo, who was previously ranked No.3 in The Ring’s top 10 best boxers in the featherweight division, might regain his spot in the rankings after an impressive win over Avelar in December 2023. The boxer who definitely deserves to dance with Inoue is no other than Magsayo. He’s younger, stronger, and even more durable than Casimero. His only issue is that Mark Magsayo struggles with his conditioning and stamina, which was proven to be true in his fights against Rey Vargas and Brandon Figueroa. But, if Naoya Inoue decides to climb up to the junior lightweight division, there’s a great chance he’s going to cross paths with Magsayo.
As for Casimero, he still can fight Inoue in 2024, but as the ratings are going, his chances are very slim. The question is, are they ready for Inoue? Even Marlon Tapales, the No.2 in the junior featherweight division rankings, didn’t stand a chance against the Japanese star. Nevertheless, boxing fans will be delighted for a Magsayo vs Inoue fight and hopefully, that will come true in the future.
