John Riel Casimero (left) and Fillipus Nghitumbwa (right) pose for photographers with Treasure Boxing Promotions head Masayuki Ito holding the WBO Global super bantamweight strap during last Friday’s weigh-in. | Photo from Treasure Boxing Promotions
CEBU CITY, Philippines– John Riel “Quadro Alas” Casimero dethroned WBO Global super bantamweight champion Fillipus Nghitumbwa of Namibia with a scrambling unanimous decision win on Saturday, May 13, 2023, at the Okada Hotel and Casino in Manila.
The 34-year-old Casimero, the former WBO world bantamweight king and a three-division world champion showcased his old, fearsome form against the tough and hard-hitting Namibian champ.
The three judges officiating the bout scored it, 114-112, 116-110, and 116-110, in favor of Casimero who is in pursuit of becoming a world champion in the 122 lbs division.
The Filipino sent Nghitumbwa crashing down on the canvas with a vicious hook in the sixth round. The Namibian got up and survived the 12-round war.
Earlier in the fight, Nghitumbwa introduced himself with a flurry of punches, forcing Casimero to keep his distance.
In the ensuing rounds, however, the Pinoy slugger was able to adjust to Nghitumbwa’s aggressive style and landed the more telling blows to his opponent’s body.
Casimero increased his punch volume in the latter rounds, forcing Nghitumbwa to defend himself. In the fifth round, Casimero rocked Nghitumbwa with a right overhand, followed by a combination that wobbled the latter.
In the sixth, he tried to finish off Nghitumbwa after scoring a knockdown, but the latter proved a tough nut to crack despite the flurry of punches thrown at him.
Nghitumbwa came alive in the last four rounds, throwing haymakers after haymakers, forcing Casimero into guard mode.
Both boxers were also showing signs of exhaustion from the back-and-forth battle, but Casimero remained consistent with his combinations.
As time winded down in the 12th round, Nghitumbwa landed his punch at the back of Casimero’s head, prompting referee, Danrex Tapdasan to deduct a point from the scorecards.
The victory improved Casimero’s record to 33 wins with 22 knockouts and four losses. Nghitumbwa dropped to a 12-2 (win-loss) with 11 knockouts. /rcg
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