MANILA – Filipino fighter John Riel Casimero received a favorable result three weeks after a controversial end to his return bout against Japanese opponent Ryo Akaho at the Paradise City Plaza in Incheon, South Korea.
In a letter, the Korea Boxing Members’ Commission (KBMC) informed the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) that it had overturned the “no contest” decision on the match and declared Casimero as a winner via second round stoppage.
“After its review of the fight and the evidence presented to it, KBM has decided to declare a Casimero win by KO, thereby reaffirming KBM’s commitment to sportsmanship and fair play,” the KBMC said in the letter.
In the said match on Dec. 3, Casimero was first floored by Akaho in the opening round before the Filipino bounced back in the second round and pummeled his Japanese opponent with heavy blows.
However, one of Casimero’s punches hit the back of the head of Akaho, who complained to the referee and then pretended to be very hurt and refused to continue even after being given five minutes to recover his bearing.
After the match, the GAB wrote a letter to the KBMC to revisit the controversial Casimero-Akaho match and re-analyze the “no contest” decision handed out by the referee of the match.
Akaho, in a separate letter to the KBMC, admitted that he was already hurt even before Casimero’s controversial punch at the back of his head and has pretended to avoid a stoppage defeat.
“Mr. Akaho said that the damage he received was not due to the impact of the punch hitting the back of his head,” the KBMC said. “He took a break to fight again, but he gave up because he couldn’t, and he admitted that it was a KO defeat.”
With the verdict, the Ormoc City, Leyte-native Casimero improved his boxing record to 32-4-0, with 22 stoppage wins, while Akaho saw his slate dropped to 39-3-2, including 26 KO victories.
The 33-year-old Casimero, a former three-division world boxing champion, was eyeing to redeem himself after being stripped of his World Boxing Organization bantamweight title due to weight issues./PN
