YOU may be familiar with The Parable of the Prodigal Son.It is a Bible story about a young man who asks his father for his inheritance, squanders it, and then returns to his father seeking his forgiveness.Former multi-weight division champion John Riel Casimero is the prodigal son asking his father (Manny Pacquiao) to welcome him back to the family.It will be recalled that Casimero used to be associated with Pacquiao's MP Promotions. It was under MP Promotions that Casimero's career soared to great heights.The relationship, however, hit a rough patch in August 2021 or shortly after Casimero successfully defended his WBO bantamweight (118 pounds) title against Guillermo Rigondeaux of Cuba.Instead of staying in the United States, Casimero returned to the country and bolted out of MP Promotions. He severed ties with his longtime trainer Noynoy Neri and well-known conditioning coach Memo Heredia.Simply put, Casimero tried to make it on his own sans Pacquiao's guidance.In the nearly four years that Casimero has been on his own, his boxing has floundered, almost hitting rock bottom.With nobody to properly monitor his condition, Casimero's old weight problems resurfaced.In May 2022, Casimero was stripped of his WBO bantamweight title after he violated WBO rules by using a sauna while preparing for his title defense against Paul Butler in London.Casimero was supposed to defend the crown against Butler in December 2021 in Dubai but the fight was called off after he failed to appear in the weigh-in. The fight was moved to April 2022 but weight issues continued to hound Casimero.The use of the sauna was the last straw and the boxing commission in London refused to sanction the fight.Butler won the WBO interim bantamweight title in April 2022 by beating Filipino Jonas Sultan. In December 2022, Butler battled IBF-WBC counterpart Inoue and lost by knockout.If only he stayed in shape, Casimero would have easily defeated Butler and retained his WBO crown. Instead, he lost the WBO title on the scales and it cost him the mega clash with Inoue.Casimero's troubles did not end there.Stretches of inactivity followed and when Casimero finally showed up it came against unknown opponents.In October 2024, after a year of inactivity, Casimero returned with a devastating first-round knockout of Saul Sanchez in Japan.Alas, Casimero showed up overweight in the Sanchez fight and was meted a one-year ban by the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC).Where is Casimero now?Casimero is without a world title. He is serving a one-year ban imposed by the JBC.Promoters are weary of working with him because of his weight issues.The last thing a promoter wants is to invest money on Casimero only to find out the fight card will be jeopardized because of his weight issues.Casimero is nowhere close to fighting Inoue as his WBO ranking has sunk because of his inactivity.Now comes Casimero's cry for help.Casimero is asking MP Promotions, or specifically Pacquiao, to help him get a fight with Inoue.Casimero averred that he wants to beat Inoue if only to refute the claim of promoter Bob Arum that Inoue has a more legendary career than Pacquiao.If Casimero is to be believed, he wants MP Promotions to welcome him back to its fold so he can 'avenge' Pacquiao by proving Arum wrong.Casimero is just trying to use a Pacquiao 'angle.'Truth be told, Casimero is seeking Pacquiao's help because his boxing career has gone nowhere since he left MP Promotions. He made a very wrong move.Pedro Taduran and Melvin Jerusalem have regained the minimumweight titles. Mark Magsayo had become a world champion and is on the verge of getting another shot at world title. Carl Jammes Martin is ranked No. 2 by the WBO in the junior featherweight division (122 pounds) and is closer to fighting Inoue or contending for the vacant title should Inoue relinquish the crown. Casimero has sunk to No. 7 in the WBO rankings.Casimero has come to the realization that he cannot make it on his own.He has become a mere blimp on the boxing radar since he left MP Promotions. This is the truth. It has nothing to with 'avenging' Pacquiao and proving Arum wrong. It is simply the case of the prodigal son wasting his 'inheritance' and asking his 'father' for forgiveness.Pacquiao is kind-hearted and will likely welcome back Casimero.However, should this happen, it must be under strict conditions. Casimero will have to work within the framework of the MP Promotions.
