Secret unlocked

AMNAT Rueroeng is one of the most elusive fighters today.

Nobody has ever found a way to beat him. The likes of Rocky Fuentes, Zou Shiming, McWilliams Arroyo and even phenom Kazuto Ioka have all tried but failed.

Johnriel Casimero, however, is confident that he will be the one that will solve the Amnat Ruenroeng puzzle.

“I have a secret on how to catch him,” Casimero told Sun.Star Cebu.

The 25-year-old Casimero challenges Ruenroeng for his International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight crown this Saturday at the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Not only does Casimero believe that he can catch the former Olympian but he is also confident that he’ll put him to sleep.

“I can’t say what round. I’ll just show a good performance in the fight, a knockout will come. I’m sure that I’m going to knock him out,” said Casimero, the former IBF light flyweight titleholder.

The 35-year-old Ruenroeng snagged the vacant IBF belt with a unanimous decision victory over Cebuano banger Fuentes. He successfully defended it thrice against Arroyo, Ioka and recently against Chinese star Shiming. He beat Ioka and Arroyo by split decision and Shiming by unanimous decision.

Casimero won the IBF light flyweight belt with a knockout win over Luis Lazarte back in 2012. After three successful title defenses, Casimero outgrew and relinquished his title after tipping the scales overweight in title defense against Mauricio Fuentes last year in Cebu City.

He earned a title shot at flyweight after beating Armando Santos in a title eliminator last December after stopping him two rounds.

Casimero is 21-2 with 13 knockouts, while Ruenroeng is unbeaten at 15-0 with just five knockouts.

Casimero believes that a win over Ruenroeng, in which even the best at 112 has never done, is his ticket to greatness.

“This is a very important fight for me because this is one of bridges of my career,” said Casimero.