Casimero blasts Mexican foe, wins WBO interim title
Credit to Author: JOSEF T. RAMOS, TMT| Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2019 09:27:29 +0000
JOHNRIEL Casimero proved to the world that he wasn’t done yet as he crushed Mexican Ricardo Espinoza Franco with a 12th round technical knockout (TKO) to take home the World Boxing Organization (WBO) interim world bantamweight belt on Sunday at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Casimero appeared lethargic in the opening round but immediately stepped on the gas at the start of the fourth round, exhibiting combinations against the 21-year-old Espinoza Franco (23-3 win-loss record with 20 knockouts).
“I just proved that there is a lot of power left from Cuadro Alas,” Casimero told The Manila Times in Filipino in an overseas call. “My opponent was durable and he still fought hard, so that’s why I’m just waiting for his move before I hit him.”
He also said that he did not mean to mock Espinoza Franco after knocking him out but admitted “I’m just so happy.”
Casimero’s win-loss record now improved to 27-4 with 18 knockouts.
In the fifth round, the Ormoc City native threw hard-hitting punches on his opponent before a knockdown at the end of round six with a solid right hook. A badly hurt Espinoza Franco tried to hug Casimero in the later rounds, which gave the smaller Filipino boxer the advantage.
Casimero delivered another combination in the 12th round , causing Espinoza Franco to kneel in front of American referee Rudy Barragan who made the mandatory eight counts.
The Mexican, nine years younger than Casimero, however, refused to surrender.
Casimero exploited his helpless foe with solid left and right straight punches, prompting the referee to stop the bout in the waning seconds of the last round to prevent severe injuries on Espinoza Franco.
It was a great comeback for Casimero as he won his third division world title after losing via unanimous decision to fellow Filipino Jonas Sultan in Cebu last September 16, 2017.
He went to Mexico last July 21 and knocked out Mexican Jose Pech in the second round.
Casimero scored a technical knockout against Japanese Kenya Yamashita last February 16 at the SM Skydome in North Edsa before returning to the United States this April for a world title fight.
He was a former International Boxing Federation (IBF) light flyweight and IBF flyweight world titleholder.
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