Brandon Figueroa, John Riel Casimero Win Interim Titles In California
While the focus of the April 20 Premier Boxing Champions card was the welterweight bout between Danny Garcia and Adrian Granados, a pair of boxers won interim titles as well.
On the Fox-televised portion of the card, Brandon Figueroa defeated former world champion Yonfrez Parejo to become the new interim WBA super bantamweight titleholder. The fight was stopped after eight rounds, awarding Figueroa his first title.
Figueroa may be the current interim champion, but a title fight against WBA champion Daniel Roman is unlikely to take place anytime soon. Roman is scheduled to face IBF champion TJ Doheny in a title unification on the undercard of the April 26 Matchroom Boxing card taking place at The Forum. The fight will be streamed on DAZN. Not only does Figueroa have to wait on the Roman-Doheny fight to conclude, but Roman already has a mandatory challenger in Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
Also on the card was a fight between Richard Espinoza and John Riel Casimero for the interim WBO bantamweight title. Casimero, who has won world titles at flyweight and light flyweight, scored a knockdown in the sixth round and later knocked Espinoza out in the final round to win the interim title. It was a close, competitive bout with no clear winner on the scorecards at the point of the stoppage. Judge Lou Moret had Casimero winning 105-103 while Pat Russell had Espinoza winning 105-103 and Zachary Young had the fight even at 104-104 after 11 rounds.
The current WBO world at 118 pounds is Zolani Tete, who is currently competing in the World Boxing Super Series. Tete will unify titles with WBA “Super” champion Nonito Donaire on April 27 in Louisiana, but the reason the interim title was approved was Tete’s inactivity due to the World Boxing Super Series being delayed as it resolved various issues that had halted the tournament’s progress and left fighters wondering when the tournament would resume.
