AS expected, the World Boxing Organization yesterday stripped John Riel Casimero of his bantamweight belt and awarded it to interim champion Paul Butler of England, the boxingscene.com website reported.
Boxingscene.com writer Jake Donovan reported that the WBO Executive Committee unanimously voted 21-0 to withdraw Casimero’s strap after he was prevented from defending his crown against the top-ranked British contender last April 22 in Liverpool, England for using a sauna to reduce weight, a breach of British Boxing Board of Control Rules.
The evidence used against “Quadro Alas” was the video posted on his own YouTube site showing him in a sauna a few days before the mandatory title match.
No. 3 WBO contender Jonas Sultan stepped in to replace Casimero but lost by unanimous decision to Butler, who was declared the interim WBO bantamweight champion pending the resolution of Casimero’s case.
It marked the second time that Casimero failed to make a mandatory title defense against Butler. He withdrew from their encounter last December in Dubai, United Arab Emirates at the last minute due to gastritis.
Casimero earned a pass from the WBO at that time after presenting the Puerto Rico-based ring body with medical and hospital records validating his illness.
The WBO, however, gave him a stern warning that he would be stripped of his title if he was unable to defend his title against the Briton for whatever reason once the new fight date was announced.
After a two-week review of the incident, Donovan wrote that Casimero’s unbecoming conduct “was grounds to relieve the Filipino of his title reign.”
The WBO World Championship Committee recommended that Casimero be rated No. 1 in the division.
Casimero’s new Russian manager, Egis Klimas, was quoted in the report that they would appeal the decision.
