John Riel Casimero (left) and Yukinori Oguni (right) strike a pose after making their weigh-in for their bout on October 12, Thursday at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. | Photo from Treasure Boxing
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The stage is officially set for John Riel “Quadro Alas” Casimero’s much-awaited debut fight in Japan after successfully making the official weigh-in on Wednesday, October 11, 2023, in Tokyo.
Casimero, a former three-division world champion, is set to square off with former IBF world super bantamweight champion Yukinori Oguni in the 10-rounder non-title bout main event.
The fight card is promoted by Casimero’s promoter from the Treasure Boxing Promotions at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo on Thursday, October 12.
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Casimero out to reclaim lost glory
Casimero and Oguni both weighed in at 121.6 pounds. This will be Casimero’s first bout in Japan after signing a promotional contract with Treasure Boxing Promotions in 2022.
The 34-year-old Filipino boxer is on a mission to reclaim his lost glory as a boxing world champion.
It was after he was stripped off of his WBO world bantamweight title in 2022 when he violated the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) ban on sauna use for reducing weight. He was supposed to defend his title against British Paul Butler.
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Casimero fight in South Korea
Despite the huge setback, the Filipino boxer redeemed himself by winning over Japanese Ryo Akaho in a controversial outcome in South Korea in December 2022.
Casimero was initially disqualified by the fight officials for allegedly hitting Akaho in the back of the head.
However, the result was changed, awarding the Filipino boxer the win after finding out the punch was clean resulting to a knockout.
Casimero went on to win the WBO Global super bantamweight title earlier this year by winning a unanimous decision victory against Namibian Fillipus Nghitumbwa.
He now has a record of 33 wins with 22 knockouts and 4 losses.
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Former world champion Oguni
He will face a promising former world champion in Oguni who has a 21-2-2 (win-loss-draw) record.
On paper, Oguni has the height and reach advantage over Casimero. The Japanese stands at 5-foot-7 and has a reach of 69.5 inches, whereas Casimero who stands at 5-foot-4 with 64-inch reach.
Still, Casimero has a better knockout percentage of 66.70 percent, compared to Oguni’s 38.1 percent.
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Filipino boxers in undercard
Joining Casimero and Oguni in the undercard are three other Filipino boxers in Froilan Saludar, Jeo Santisima, and Vince Paras.
Saludar will battle Japanese Keita Kurihara for the OPBF bantamweight title, while Paras fights Kai Ishizawa in an eight rounder non-title bout.
Santisima, who is based in Cebu under ZIP Sanman Boxing Team, will face Kenji Fujita also in an eight-rounder bout.