Boxing analyst addresses theories about John Riel Casimero being 'set up' in Liverpool

Veteran boxing analyst Atty. Ed Tolentino is not convinced about the fan speculation that WBO world bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero had somehow been "set up" to be pulled from a title defense in Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Casimero was supposed to defend his title against Paul Butler this past weekend but was not allowed to compete for violating a British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) policy that prohibits fighters to use a sauna before a fight.

The incident was streamed live on Youtube.

“We have to ask again, who provided the evidence that got him removed from the world title fight? I do not know if it was a setup or not, because the British Board itself decided. This would have not happened if Casimero did not in any way contribute to the situation,” Tolentino said.

“It is a setup of you are totally unaware then all of a sudden it happened, the fight was taken from you. Both fighters signed to fight, there was no problem. All he had to do was make weight but got caught violating a guideline so the fight did not happen.”

While some fans are throwing around theories about a setup, as far as Tolentino is concerned, it was a lack of knowledge of BBBofC protocols on Team Casimero’s part that ultimately led to the boxer’s situation.

Instead, fellow Filipino Jonas Sultan stepped in as a replacement to fight in Casimero's place days before the scheduled date. Sultan and his camp had already been preparing for a fight in the undercard of the same event.

“It was not a setup, but the camp of Sultan already had a suspicion. If it was a setup then there has to be more solid proof to establish that it was a setup. This is BBBofC, they have run boxing since 1929. You are the visitor, you should follow [the rules],” Tolentino stressed.

—JMB, GMA News