MANILA – John Riel Casimero hardly broke sweat as he kept his World Boxing Organization (WBO) world bantamweight championship with a third round technical knockout win over Duke Micah of Ghana at the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Connecticut, United States on Sunday.
It was the first successful defense of the Ormoc, Leyte-native’s on the world championship he won at the expense of South African Zolani Tete via third round stoppage in Nov. 2019.
After a flat start in the opening round, Casimero recovered in the second period with solid connections before flooring Micah with a big left hook. The Ghanaian fighter survived the round despite a late flurry from the Filipino boxer.
Casimero went for the kill in the third round as he pounced on Micah at the corner with a shot to the jaw forcing referee Steve Willis to stop the match midway in the round.
Following his win, Casimero called out Japanese boxer Naoya Inoue, his supposed next opponent until the coronavirus pandemic halted their supposed unification bout.
“Naoya Inoue is scared of me. You’re next. I would have knocked out anyone today,” Casimero said. “If Inoue doesn’t fight me, then I’ll fight Guillermo Rigondeaux, Luis Nery, or any of the top fighters.”
With the victory, the 30-year-old Casimero improved his boxing record to 30-4-0 win-loss-draw, including 21 stoppage victories while the 29-year-old Micah suffered his first loss as he dropped to 24-1-0 slate with 19 wins via knockout./PN
