| |
|
CASIMERO STOPS FRANCO IN 12, CAPTURES WBO INTERIM BANTAM TITLE
By Dong Secuya PhilBoxing.com Sun, 21 Apr 2019

Former two-division world champion John Riel Casimero of the Philippines won a hard-fought 12th round stoppage over Mexican slugger Ricardo Espinoza Franco to capture the WBO Interim world batamweight title at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, CA on the undercard of Danny Garcia-Andrian Granados main-header Saturday night (Sunday in Manila).
Casimero (27-4-0, 17KOs) dropped Franco (23-3-0, 20KOs) in the 6th round but the Mexican knockout artist recovered and continued to press action as Casimero was catching for breath. Casimero caught Franco again in the 12th round for a second knockdown but after the Mexican beat the count, Casimero threw a barrage of unanswered punches before Referee Rudy Barragan stepped in to stop the carnage. Time: 44 seconds of the 12th round.
Casimero, who got derailed by a loss against compatriot Jonas Sultan on Sep. 16, 2017, is now back in harness by capturing a world title in a third division. The regular WBO world bantamweight champion is Zolani Tete of South Africa who will defend his WBO/WBA titles against Nonito Donaire Jr next week, April 27, in Lafayette, Louisiana for the WBSS tournament. The WBO earlier ruled that since the WBSS tournament will take time to finish, making the champion unavailable to defend his title against the WBO contenders, it sanctioned the Casimero-Franco fight for the Interim title.
Casimero earlier captured the IBF light flyweight and flyweight world titles.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Taylor vs. Serrano Trilogy: Can Amanda Get The Nod? By Chris Carlson, , Sat, 12 Jul 2025BERLANGA-SHEERAZ, STEVENSON-CEPEDA, MORELL-KHATAEV MAKE WEIGHT IN NEW YORK By Dong Secuya, , Sat, 12 Jul 2025Johnny Spell Takes on Chancellor Batttenberg on Saturday, July 19th at the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows in Washington, PA , Sat, 12 Jul 2025JV Tuazon, Ador Torres, Lemuel De Barbo, Jomar Fajardo Make Weight for Brico Santig's Highland Show in Thailand By Carlos Costa, , Fri, 11 Jul 2025Philippine Under-12 Girls Team Shines Bright, Clinches Multiple Medals at 23rd ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships in Penang By Marlon Bernardino, , Fri, 11 Jul 2025Kenneth “Llover Boy” Takes on “El Nica” Concepcion Aug 17 on Gerry Peñalosa’s Show @ the Winford Resort and Casino Manila (Analysis) By Carlos Costa, , Fri, 11 Jul 2025Undefeated junior middleweight prospect Anthony Velazquez won’t be Boxing’s best kept secret in 2026 , Fri, 11 Jul 2025Undefeated Gabriela Tellez Returns July 18 at “Night of Champions” Live on DAZN , Fri, 11 Jul 2025Dushanbe hosts stacked fight card with Bakhodur Usmonov and Christopher Mouafo headlining IBA.Pro 8 , Fri, 11 Jul 2025Shakur vs Zepeda & Morrell vs Khataev Fight Analysis By Ralph Rimpell, , Thu, 10 Jul 2025Peñalosa To Test "Lover Boy" Llover Versus Accomplished Panamanian Veteran Concepcion By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Thu, 10 Jul 2025USA Boxing Youth High Performance Team Begins Brandenburg Cup Prep Camp , Thu, 10 Jul 2025Dream Fight: “Bam” Rodriguez vs “Puma” Martinez on the Horizon By Carlos Costa, , Thu, 10 Jul 2025Perez vs Vivas Headlines All Star Boxing's Prueba de Fuego Card on July 25 , Thu, 10 Jul 2025Christy Martin Promotions & Ringside Ticket Inc. Present ‘Lopez Vs. Vargas’ Welterweight Battle , Thu, 10 Jul 2025Vegas Fight Experience Where Authentic Sparring Meets Cinematic Vegas Energy , Thu, 10 Jul 20254 Division World Champion & Hall of Famer Erik Morales Confirmed for Eighth Annual Box Fan Expo, During Mexican Independence Day Weekend, Saturday September 13, in Las Vegas , Thu, 10 Jul 2025SALITA PROMOTIONS SIGNS FORMER WORLD CHAMPION TONY HARRISON , Thu, 10 Jul 2025FIGHT EMPIRE! TUAZON, ADOR, DE BARBO, JOMAR, AND MORE ARE READY FOR ACTION IN BRICO SANTIG'S EXCITING SHOW JULY 12 IN THAILAND By Carlos Costa, , Wed, 09 Jul 2025Shakur Stevenson and David Morrell Face "Crossroad Fights" This Saturday in Queens By Ralph Rimpell, , Wed, 09 Jul 2025Christy Martin’s “Mayhem in Music City 2” to Feature Undefeated Vic Hernandez Facing Jayvon Garnett for NABA & Jr. NABF Featherweight Championships , Wed, 09 Jul 2025James Perkins & Anthony Andreozzi Headlines “Oceanside Prize Fights” , Wed, 09 Jul 2025GORST PURSUES GOLDEN GLORY IN JEDDAH, DEFENDING WORLD POOL CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE IN SAUDI ARABIA, 21–26 JULY , Wed, 09 Jul 2025Hovhannisyan and Barrientes Set for High-Stakes Showdowns July 18 on DAZN , Tue, 08 Jul 2025UNBEATEN PROSPECT KENNETH LLOVER TO FACE FORMER TWO-DIVISION CHAMPION LUIS CONCEPCION IN MANILA , Mon, 07 Jul 2025 |

|
|
|
|
|