John Riel Casimero had a much easier time in the ring than with the scale.
The former three-division titleholder salvaged a near-disastrous weekend with a first-round knockout of Saul Sanchez. Casimero scored two knockouts before forcing the stop at 2:41 of the opening round Saturday at Yokohama Budokan in Yokohama, Japan.
Serious concerns were expressed about the main event even moving forward after Casimero blew weight twice. The official weigh-in ceremony on Saturday saw Casimero initially weigh more than two pounds over the contracted 122-pound limit. He was only able to get down to 123 ¼ pounds after the last attempt.
Sanchez’s team conditionally agreed to move forward with the fight. Casimero was obliged to commit to two more weigh-ins on fight day—once in the morning, and again when he arrived at the venue. On every occasion, the visiting Filipino managed to go on with all the show as planned.
It was all one-way traffic from there.
Casimero hurt Sanchez with the first punch he landed in the fight. Sanchez was in trouble and forced to take his gloves to the canvas within the first 20 seconds of the fight. Referee Yuji Fukuchi correctly deemed the sequence a knockdown and issued a mandatory eight count.
Sanchez tried to fight back to no avail, and managed to land a left hook in the middle of the round. This only angered Casimero, who came back. He missed wildly with a left hook, but was able to slip a counter right. Casimero made Sanchez pay with a follow-up left hook to put the California native flat on his back.
Somehow, Sanchez recovered in time to tie the score. Casimero was relentless in his quest to close the show. Every punch was thrown with knockout intent. A final right hand staggered Sanchez and the referee intervened.
Casimero (34-4-1, 23 knockouts) is now undefeated in his last 15 starts. However, the run also includes a draw in his previous fight and having vacated his WBO 118lbs in England after failing to comply with their fight week weight management rules.
Sanchez (21-4, 12KOs) is now 3-3 in his past six fights and 1-2 on the year. He opened 2024 with a Fight of the Year-level majority decision loss to then-WBO bantamweight titlist Jason Moloney. Sanchez rebounded with an eight-round decision over Arthur Villanueva in July, also at bantamweight. His move up in weight took a disastrous turn.
Casimero previously held major titles in junior flyweight, flyweight and bantamweight.
A greater commitment will have to come at junior featherweight before he can prove to challenge for the crown. Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) holds the Ring Championship and all four major titles at weight. The two were set to meet in a three-belt unification match at bantamweight in April 2020, only for the pandemic to kill those plans.
There has been loose talk of the fight making its way back to the schedule in 2025, should Inoue stay at 122.
A big question surrounding Casimero is whether any promoter is willing to take a chance on the troubled 35-year-old. Former 130-pound titlist Masayuki Ito brought Casimero to his TB Promotions outfit, but was put off by the weekend’s pre-fight events. Inoue’s team has previously expressed interest in revisiting the fight, but also demands the utmost professionalism for its events.
