Melindo: Casimero will destroy Nghitumbwa

AFTER sharing the ring for the first time in their respective careers, Milan Melindo believes that fellow former world champion Johnriel Casimero will destroy his upcoming opponent Fillipus Nghitumbwa on Saturday, May 13, 2023, at the Okada Manila Hotel and Casino in Parañaque City.

Melindo recently went six rounds with Casimero in a sparring session at the Omega Boxing Gym as part of both boxers’ preparation for their respective upcoming fights.

“I think his opponent will get knocked out,” Melindo, the former International Boxing Federation (IBF) light flyweight champion, told SunStar Cebu. “But it will all depend on the opponent. If the opponent is confident and feels that he can take on Casimero then this will be over early.”

Casimero is challenging Nghitumbwa for the latter’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) Global super bantamweight strap.

Melindo was amazed at how strong Casimero is at his weight class. It was a very competitive six-round sparring session and Melindo was thankful that he learned a lot from that experience.

“He’s strong. If it were a different fighter that was sparring with him, for sure they would have been groggy or got knocked down. For my part, I’m studying what I would learn from him. I would just defend from his punches. He had two body shots that went in but I took well because I have a solid core. He’s ready for his upcoming fight, I’m about 50 percent ready for my fight this June 24. What’s important is the quality of our sparring. Even if we sparred just six rounds, it was like a 12-round fight. There is no question about his power but he also recognized my tough defense,” said Melindo, who’ll be defending his Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation Silver featherweight belt against Jong Seon Kang in South Korea.

After a disappointing year for Casimero in 2022, wherein he was stripped off of his WBO bantamweight belt, he is building his way back up for a run at a fourth division title.

The 34-year-old Casimero is currently ranked No. 5 by the WBO, No. 8 in the World Boxing Council (WBC) and No. 15 by the IBF.

Nghitumbwa, on the other hand, is rated No. 10 by the WBO and No. 26 WBC.

Casimero is coming off a second-round knockout of former world title contender Ryo Akaho on Dec. 3, 2022 in South Korea, while the lesser known Nghitumbwa scored an 11th-round technical knockout of Sabelo Ngebinyana on Oct. 29, 2022 in Namibia.

Casimero is 32-4 with 22 knockouts, while Nghitumbwa is 12-1 with 11 knockouts. (EKA)