Nonito Donaire calls off clash with John Riel Casimero

Nonito Donaire is backing out of his supposed showdown with fellow Filipino champ John Riel Casimero. Esther Lin/Showtime (file photo)

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--The highly anticipated all-Filipino title showdown between Nonito Donaire and John Riel Casimero is now in danger of not pushing through as Donaire is pulling himself out of the match.

In a statement on Wednesday, Donaire, the current World Boxing Council bantamweight champion, said that he is disgusted by the lack of professionalism on the camp of Casimero, the reigning World Boxing Organization champ.

"We cannot ignore this unprofessional behavior," Donaire said.

For one, he said that Casimero submitted the needed papers to the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency for the pre-fight drug testing a bit too late, even believing that there might be some misinformation in the documents.

"We cancelled this fight when they delayed turning in the VADA paperwork for 5 days. We have proof that the opposing side was neither honest nor forthcoming in providing the proper information to begin VADA drug testing. After we cancelled the fight, then and only then did the paperwork suddenly appear," Donaire stated.

He also took a swipe at a member of Team Casimero who uttered choice words at his wife Rachel.

"I stand against misogynistic culture. A grown man recently told the mother of my boys to 'snack on his ____,'" Nonito Donaire continued. "We cannot excuse the disgusting trolling memes created of my wife as 'just for entertainment.'"

He also called on his fellow athletes not to support this kind of behavior.

"I don't want other pro athletes to cross this line and think this type of behavior is acceptable. We have to maintain a respectable character, especially online, for the future generations to emulate, and not promote ignorance and foul behavior. For the boxing culture to change, promoters and networks should veer away from unacceptable behavior and not encourage it," Donaire further said.

He concluded by saying as much as he would want to finish Casimero in what would have been their unification fight on Aug. 15 (Philippine Time), he is moving on.

"As much as I want to knock him out, I'm going to take the high road and instead of highlighting his misbehaviors, I'm not going to give his example the stage or the payday that comes with it," Donaire said.

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