MANDATORY challenger Michael Dasmariñas eyes an upset as he challenges Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) bantanweight belts on Sunday, June 20, 2021 (PH time), at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Dasmariñas is coming in as a huge underdog against Inoue, who’s regarded as the best bantamweight right now.
“I did everything I am supposed to do in training, and I am prepared and I will do whatever it takes to give a good fight to Naoya Inoue,” said Dasmariñas in a report posted at Fightnews.com. “It was a long, hard wait (after winning the IBF title eliminator in March 2019), but patience and perseverance allowed me to get here. I am thankful to everyone that I’ve been given the chance to fight a great fighter in Naoya Inoue.”
The 28-year-old Dasmariñas earned a shot at Inoue after a unanimous decision win over Kenny Demecillo on March 23, 2019 in an IBF bantamweight title eliminator in Pasay City. He fought one more time, a fifth-round technical knockout over Artid Bamrungauea on Oct. 26, 2019, before sitting out the rest of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dasmariñas had a good long training camp in the Philippines, in which he was able to spar with former Inoue sparring partner KJ Cataraja.
Inoue, on the other hand, stamped his mark on the bantamweight division after winning World Boxing Super Series bantamweight tournament, beating the likes of Filipino star Nonito Donaire Jr., Emmanuel Rodriguez and Juan Carlos Payano.
Inoue had a title defense in 2020. He demolished Jason Moloney in seven rounds.
Dasmariñas is 30-2-1 with 20 knockouts, while Inoue is 20-0 with 17 knockouts. (EKA)