Seeing Casimero heavily favored from the poll is not really that surprising and people are just waiting for his comeback since he was stripped by his WBO belt. So far, things are going well with Casimero inside his camp and I'm just not used that he's so silent since this bout has been finalized, so I assume that they're so serious inside the camp and with just a little 2 weeks left from his fight, it seems that he doesn't have that weight struggles anymore. Already excited about his return!
Anyway, here's an article I found earlier regarding Casimero's plans should he succeed in his upcoming fight.
"If I win against Akaho I want Naoya Inoue next as long as he does not run. I respect Akaho because he will fight me, he is not afraid," -Casimero said in an interview with A-Sign Boxing.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/sports/boxing/850209/john-riel-casimero-targets-inoue-showdown-after-ryo-akaho-fight/story/When I thought that Casimero is quietly preparing for his fight against Akaho, he had to open his mouth and then call out Inoue hehehe.
Maybe that's what really his target, I mean we have been waiting for this fight against Inoue, unfortunately he can't make the weight at 118 lbs. But since both of them are moving up to 122 lbs, this fight is inevitable.
But first Casimero should take care of his business here and beat Akaho convincingly.
I like it when Casimero and his camp are not making many appearances in public and online, unlike his previous fights where they're always noisy and the vloggers keep making videos out of him. He needs to be very serious if he wants to continue his boxing career. I believe he should be able to beat Akaho and hopefully in an impressive way.
Meanwhile, the WBC mandated 122 WBO/WBC champ Stephen Fulton to rematch Brandon Figueroa at 126 for the WBC interim belt. Should Fulton accepts the mandate, his 2 122 belts might become vacant which is a good opportunity for Casimero and even for Inoue. Maybe Casimero and Inoue will fight for a vacant belt right away.