Promoter and manager Sammy Gello-ani insists that MP Promotions is the only rightful authority to handle the career of reigning World Boxing Organization bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero.
Although he has stopped promoting and managing boxers for the past two years, Gello-ani said that he still has a promotional contract with Casimero, but he gave MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons the blanket authority to negotiate and work for him.
Gello-Ani also downplayed the legal claim of Fil-Am Morris East as Casimero’s rightful manager, saying that when he signed up the Ormoc City native two years ago for a managerial contract, he did not have a managerial or a promoter license during that time.
“In reality and legality, Sean (Gibbons) as MP [Promotions] President is the only authorized person to handle Casimero, because I gave them the full authority. They are the only entity that I authorized. I gave them Casimero because I wanted him to be active,” said Gello-ani.
Gello-ani of SGG Sports and Promotions Services has been promoting Casimero since 2009.
East has a standing lawsuit early this year against Casimero for a breach of contract and Gibbons and MP Promotions of Senator Manny Pacquiao for interfering into a live contract. But Gello-ani believes that East’s lawsuit filed at the Clark County Court in Las Vegas will not prosper.
“He (East) misrepresented himself by signing Casimero into a managerial contract, when he wasn’t a legitimate manager but a trainer during that time. He did not have a license. At the same time, I just found out that he had been luring Casimero to sign with new promoter Greg Cohen,” he explained.
Casimero did not sign the Greg Cohen promotional contract, according to Gello-ani.
Based on his lawsuit, East is demanding a percentage payment cut from Casimero’s last five bouts since 2018 from his fights with Jose Pech, Kenya Yamashita, Ricardo Espinoza Franco, Cesar Ramirez and Zolani Tete in London last November 30.
Gello-ani, however, said that East doesn’t deserve even a single centavo cut for deceiving Casimero.
East has no comment on Gello-ani’s statement for the meantime.