WBO approves Casimero vs. Butler on April 23

The World Boxing Organization has given the go signal for the world championship showdown between John Riel Casimero and mandatory challenger Paul Butler on April 23 at a yet-to-be-determined venue in Liverpool, England.

Casimero, the reigning WBO world bantamweight champion, was supposed to defend his strap against Butler last December in Dubai but the fight was called off after he fell ill just hours before the official weigh-in.

The WBO allowed Casimero to keep his title and gave Probellum 15 days to notify the major sanctioning body if the promotion still wants to pursue the match that they won through a purse bid for $105,000.

"Please be advised that the WBO World Championship Committee grants sanction approval for the above-referenced Bantamweight Mandatory bout between John Riel Casimero and Paul Butler, scheduled for Saturday, April 23, 2022, in Liverpool, England, United Kingdom," the WBO wrote to Probellum's chief strategy and legal officer Harrison Whitman.

The 32-year-old Casimero (31-4, 21KOs) has not made a mandatory defense of his title since winning it against Zolani Tete. The WBO said that if Casimero failed to show up to the fight, regardless of the reason, the title will be stripped off him.

"In the event that Casimero does not attend the official weigh-in for any reason whatsoever, refuses to fight, is injured or suffers an injury, or is unavailable to participate regardless the circumstances, the Bantamweight Championship Title will be declared Vacant 'Ipso Facto' and with Casimero being rated in the Bantamweight division per WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests," the WBO said.

Butler, meanwhile, will lose his position as the mandatory challenger to the world title should he fail to show up for the fight regardless of the reason.

—MGP, GMA News