Is John Riel for real?

December 26, 2009 | Posted by Benjie

johnriel

Photo Courtesy: Philboxing.com

Another good news for Philippine boxing came about before Christmas as another young prospect from Mandaue City, Cebu surprised everyone with his stunning victory over a Nicaraguan foe. John Riel Casimero was a huge underdog going for the fight against the tough Nicaraguan Cesar Canchila for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) interim light flyweight title last December 19 in Managua, Nicaragua.

Casimero, was born on February 13, 1990 and grew up in Ormoc City in the eastern Philippine province of Leyte, but is now residing in Mandaue City, Cebu. His ring record now stands at 14-0 with 8 KOs. Following his astounding victory over Canchila, Casimero is now the WBO interim light flyweight champion. His status as an interim champion gives him a very large window in fighting against Ivan Calderon of Puerto Rico, the current ‘regular’ WBO champion in his weight category. Besides, he could fight the other big names in this division like Giovanni Segura, Omar Niño Romero and Japanese rising star Ryo Miyazaki.

Big fights are big tests for the budding star John Riel. As a fellow Filipino, I hope that John Riel is for real.