NEW promotional outfit Probellum will promote the fight between World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight king Johnriel Casimero and mandatory challenger Paul Butler after winning the recent purse bid.
Probellum was the only bidder and won the purse bid with a $105,000 bid. Casimero will earn the bulk of the purse with $78,750, while Butler gets 25 percent of the cash with $26,250.
Probellum plans to hold the world championship fight on Dec. 11 either in Dubai, UAE or in Liverpool, England.
Probellum is a new boxing promotion and media company that launched last September and is led by its president Richard Schaefer, the former chief executive officer of Golden Boy Promotions.
Probellum recently signed fighters with the likes of Ricky Burns, Regis Prograis and Badou Jack.
The 31-year-old Casimero won the WBO bantamweight belt with a third round stoppage of Zolani Tete in 2019. He followed it up with a third round technical knockout of challenger Duke Micah in 2020 before beating former world champion and Olympic gold medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux by split decision on Aug. 14.
Casimero was eying unification bouts with either World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. or International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight king. However, the WBO mandated him to fight Butler in a mandatory world title bout.
The 32-year-old Butler is a former IBF bantamweight champion. He won the IBF strap in 2014 with a split decision over Stuart Hall in Newcastle, England. He, however, failed to defend his title after relinquishing it to move back down to the super flyweight division. He challenged Tete for the IBF super flyweight belt in 2015 but lost via an eighth round technical knockout. After his loss to Tete, Butler went 16-1, losing only to former world champion Emmanuel Rodriguez via unanimous decision.
Casimero is 31-4 with 21 knockouts, while Butler is 33-2 with 15 knockouts. (EKA)