Naoya Inoue (left) and Michael Dasmarinas during their weigh in. Photo by Mikey Williams/ Top Rank
MANILA, Philippines — Naoya Inoue would rather make his fists do the talking despite being continuously mocked by fellow bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero of the Philippines on social media.
Inoue is set for his fifth title defense on Sunday (Manila time) against another Filipino in Michael Dasmariñas in Las Vegas and the undefeated Japanese doesn’t want to lose sight of what’s in front of him.
“Right now, I’m just focused on this fight, living in the moment,” Inoue (20-0, 17 KOs) told BoxingScene.com.
“I’ve heard what he (Casimero) has had to say and choose to not pay attention to that kind of talk,” he added.
Inoue, who will defend his WBA (Super) and IBF belts, was supposed to fight Casimero in a unification bout in April 2020 but the showdown got scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the postponement, Casimero had been pushing hard for the fight while also taking jabs at Inoue.
He also approached Bob Arum during a recent boxing event, asking the Top Rank chief to make the bout happen.
But both Inoue and Casimero, who is fighting Guillermo Rigondeax on August 14 in Carson, California, will have to hurdle separate challenges first.
“When the time comes to fight him, I will use it as motivation,” said Inoue, a significant favorite to beat Dasmariñas. “I will remind him in the ring of everything he had to say about me.”