By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Another Filipino will try to hunt down and deal Japanese boxer Naoya “Monster” Inoue his first-ever loss in his stellar career.
No, it’s not Johnriel Casimero, but an International Boxing Federation (IBF) staple who will try to end Naoya’s streak and claim his IBF/WBA bantamweight belts.
Michael Dasmariñas, who currently holds an impressive 30 wins, 2 losses and 20 knockouts resume was given a deal by the IBF to challenge Inoue, given that he is the number one contender in the same boxing organization.
The Filipino slugger is also on a hot winning streak after knocking out Karim Gueri cold with just one punch, notching an all-around unanimous decision win over Kenny Demecillo and finishing Artid Bamrungauea in just five rounds.
Manny Pacquiao (MP) Promotions President Sean Gibbons will represent Dasmariñas and his whole camp for the negotiation. He revealed all has been set except for the final date due to the lockdown imposed by the Japanese government in Tokyo.
Camp manager and gym owner Art Monis shared that Dasmariñas will begin his light training workout and will continue to strategize ahead of the fight given there is no fixed schedule yet.
“It’s still too early for hard training. We will just make sure Michael is in good condition, and then do the hard grind two months before the fight,” Monis said.