Sultan steps in for Casimero vs. Butler

WORLD Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight champion Johnriel Casimero won’t be able to defend his belt against mandatory Paul Butler for the second time after being barred by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) to fight on April 22 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.Casimero apparently violated the BBBofC’s medical policy of using saunas to trim down in weight before a fight.Casimero reportedly posted a video in his official Youtube account, using a sauna to cut down weight. He also had two weight checks, which showed that he lost 10 pounds in three days that the BBBofC found to be alarming.The WBO has given Casimero 48 hours to explain why he shouldn’t be stripped of his belt.Casimero was originally scheduled to defend his belt against Butler last December in Dubai.Casimero wasn’t able to appear in the event’s weigh-in and was forced to pull out after suffering from gastritis. Casimero luckily wasn’t stripped by the WBO of his title.Former world title contender Jonas Sultan will step in for Casimero and will be facing Butler for the interim WBO bantamweight strap.The WBO just approved the title fight in a letter addressed to Harrison Whitman of Probellum.Sultan is the No. 4 ranked bantamweight behind No. 1 ranked Butler, No. 2 rated Rau’shee Warren and No. 3 Jason Moloney.The 31-year-old Sultan is coming off a huge unanimous decision win over previously unbeaten Carlos Caraballo, who he dropped four times on Oct. 30, 2021.Butler, in the meantime, is coming off a split decision win over Willibaldo Garcia to win the vacant WBO International bantamweight belt on June 25, 2021. He’s a former International Boxing Federation bantamweight champion after winning the belt with a split decision over Stuart Hall in 2014.Sultan is 18-5 with 11 knockouts, while the 33-year-old Butler is 33-2 with 15 knockouts.