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Philippines, 17 Mar 2026 |
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CASIMERO LOSES IBF FLYWEIGHT TITLE BID IN UGLY, FOUL-MARRED FIGHT AIDED BY INCOMPETENT REFEREE By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Sun, 28 Jun 2015  Former IBF light flyweight champion and mandatory challenger Johnreil Casimero lost in his bid to win the IBF flyweight title against Thai champion Amnat Ruenroeng in an ugly, foul-marred fight at the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium Saturday night where an incompetent American referee Larry Doggett did nothing to stop the champion from repeatedly sending Casimero to the canvas in takedowns, constantly holding and grabbing for long spells and catching him in a headlock and around the throat several times. Referee Doggett compounded his shameless actions by refusing to call a clear knockdown in round three when Casimero caught Ruenroeng with a perfectly-timed left hook with the groggy champion allowed time to fix his loose laces that helped him recover while Doggett ruled a knockdown in the previous round when Amnat connected with much less cleaner punch and dropped an off-balance Casimero. After his third takedown in round five, in which Casimero connected with a great counter left, Ruenroeng was warned by the referee after another takedown. Amnat followed up by pushing Casimero down near the corner and hitting him while he was on his haunches. In round six Ruenroeng pushed Casimero through the ropes and almost out of the ring and then caught the challenger in one of his many headlocks. An utterly frustrated Casimero who tried desperately to push the grappling Ruenroeng away to give himself room to punch tried to get out of the champion?s clutches by punching him on the thigh and catching him with a couple of low blows in the eleventh round. Doggett continued his pathetic officiating when he called a slip by an off-balance Casimero in round seven as a knockdown. We timed a clinch in the same round with the TV 5 commentators Carlo Pamintuan amd James Velasquez that lasted 40 seconds while the referee stood in front of the two fighters and did absolutely nothing. Doggett warned Ruenroeng once again for holding in round eight which was followed by two subsequent takedowns. Knowing he was behind on points and the only way to salvage a victory would be by a knockout the 25 year old Casimero went after his 35 year old tormentor with referee Doggett going to Ruenroeng?s corner and warning them about the tactics of the champion before the start of the round and deducted a point from Amnat after a fifth takedown in round eleven when it was obvious it wouldn?t affect the outcome of the fight. As Casimero tried desperately to catch Ruenroeng with one big shot, Ruenroeng?s tape around his glove came loose before he finished the bout with one final takedown even as Casimero nailed him with a big left which was too little, too late. The two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist who had previously defeated seven Filipinos including Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation champion Rocky Fuentes who was also a victim of the same grabbing, holding and takedown tactics in a losing effort. With the win Ruenroeng improved his record to 16-0 with 5 knockouts while Casimero dropped to 21-3 with 12 knockouts. Casimero?s trainer Jhun Agrabio told the New Standard/boxingmirror.com in an interview long after the fight ended, ?we knew what Amnat would do but were disappointed that referee Doggett who told us in the dressing room that he wouldn?t tolerate excessive holding or other illegal tactics failed to keep his word.? Agrabio claimed he told Amnat?s Filipino trainer Aljoe Jaro who came under fire for gloating over the champion?s victory that ?Amnat will win only in Thailand. Anywhere else he will be disqualified.? The trainer told us Casimero hurt his knee as well as his neck due to the many takedowns and strangleholds on his neck resorted to by Amnat and that because if these tactics he couldn?t implement his game-plan. Agrabio said ?nobody will beat Amnat in Thailand but he will kill boxing? because of his tactics. He said that after referee Doggett ruled the seventh round slip by Casimero a knockdown he heard Aljoe Jaro telling the champion it was a push and cautioning him not to follow up because he might get caught by a big punch from Casimero. Well known international promoter and matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz who handles Casimero in partnership with Sammy Gello-ani told Casimero ?you didn?t lose in a boxing fight today? and promised to get him a good fight after a brief rest and a return to the gym in Las Vegas on July 6. Team Casimero is scheduled to arrive in Manila on a PAL flight from Bangkok in the early hours of Monday morning after which he will catch a connecting flight with Gello-ani to Cebu and then take a boat to his hometown Ormoc. Photo: American referee Larry Doggett raises the hand of Amnat Ruenroeng after the Thai IBF champion was declared the winner by unanimous decision over his Filipino challenger Johnreil Casimero Friday night in Bangkok. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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