Casimero debut fight in Japan ends in technical draw, Inoue battle may have to wait
Yukinori Oguni (left) and Johnriel Casimero (right) had their hand raised by the referee after the decision of their bout was announced. | Screen grab from the live stream.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Johnriel Casimero’s dream of fighting Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue might have to take a backseat after the flamboyant Filipino’s debut fight in Japan ended in a fourth-round technical draw on Thursday, October 12.
This was after Casimero’s Japanese opponent, Yukinori Oguni suffered a nasty gash in the fourth prompting the referee to stop the fight scheduled for 10 rounds.
The bout was halted by the ring physician after Oguni suffered a deep cut on his right eyebrow, resulting in the draw.
Casimero, nicknamed Quadro Alas, was leading the two judges’ scorecards Tetsuya Iida and Koji Tanaka after three rounds with 29-28 scores. Oguni on the other hand, led 29-28 in judge Shuhei Terayama’s card.
READ: Casimero makes weight, ready for debut fight on Oct. 12 in Japan
It was supposed to be a statement bout for the Filipino to determine if he’s ready to go after Inoue, the former undisputed world bantamweight king.
It was Casimero’s first-ever draw. He has 33 wins, 22 by knockouts and four defeats.
Meanwhile, Oguni absorbed his third draw with 21 wins and 2 losses with eight knockouts.
Johnriel started aggressively, landing the more telling blows, forcing Oguni to up his guard and defend himself throughout the round.
However, Oguni turned the table in the second round, hitting the Filipino with well-timed combinations.
The Japanese also effectively used his height and reach advantage to land his jabs and straights.
Not to be outfought, Casimero managed to end the round with a right hook that wobbled Oguni.
Sensing that Oguni was still hurt, Casimero was relentless in the third, attacking the Japanese with haymakers.
READ: Casimero stripped of WBO world title
Still, Oguni gamely exchanged punches with Casimero and weathered every combination thrown by the latter.
However, both fighters clashed heads at the start of the fourth stanza and after Oguni’s trip to the medical corner, the bout was stopped. /rcg
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