| |
|
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:
Weights From ‘Vazquez vs. Lugo’ Event from College Park Center in Arlington, TX, & Broadcast Live on ProBoxTV , Fri, 05 Jun 2026SHEFFIELD FIGHT WEEK PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES: EVERYTHING THAT WAS SAID AS JOSH PADLEY AND AQIB FIAZ FACE OFF , Fri, 05 Jun 2026“I would not say Yoka is more dangerous.” Murat Gassiev's coach Kadushin on boxer's training camp , Fri, 05 Jun 2026“I would not say Yoka is more dangerous.” Murat Gassiev's coach Kadushin on boxer's training camp , Fri, 05 Jun 2026Homecoming for super middleweight prospect Elijah Garcia to be showcased June 20 on Kingsley Ibeh vs. Dante Stone card in Phoenix , Fri, 05 Jun 2026Amateur Standout Kayla "The Truth" Gomez Set for Professional Debut on MF Pro's "Pugilist Revolution" June 19 in Long Beach , Fri, 05 Jun 2026Tancontian to lead PH team in Sambo Asia-Oceania By Lito delos Reyes, , Fri, 05 Jun 2026Clarion to fight for WBC Youth World super flyweight title in Japan By Lito delos Reyes, , Thu, 04 Jun 20262026 NBA Finals: Knicks Steal Game 1 in San Antonio 105-95 By Reylan Loberternos, , Thu, 04 Jun 2026LAMONT “THE REAPER” ROACH JR. AND WILLIAM “EL CAMARÓN” ZEPEDA TO BATTLE FOR THE WBC LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP , Thu, 04 Jun 2026Ramirez vs. Richards - Weigh In Results , Thu, 04 Jun 2026Louisville and Boxing World commemorated 10th Anniversary of Muhammad Ali death By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Thu, 04 Jun 2026Sampson Lewkowicz: Boxing’s Picasso By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT, , Wed, 03 Jun 2026BARRY HEARN OBE TO FUND 10 BRAND NEW APPRENTICESHIP ROLES THANKS TO MATCHROOM CHARITABLE FOUNDATION AND COACH CORE , Wed, 03 Jun 2026Olongapo to host National Age Group Chess Championship By Marlon Bernardino, , Wed, 03 Jun 2026JOSEPH "JOJO" DIAZ EAGER TO REVIVE CAREER AHEAD OF JUNE 19 SHOWDOWN WITH "H2O" SYLVE , Wed, 03 Jun 2026Charly Suarez is my idol - Jhon Lowie Lastimosa By Lito delos Reyes, , Wed, 03 Jun 2026Josh “The Hammer” Popper: From Holy Spirit to a Heavyweight Headline at the Tropicana , Wed, 03 Jun 2026600 athletes expected in 11th Asia-Oceania Sambo tourney By Lito delos Reyes, , Wed, 03 Jun 2026Dagestan rivalry set to ignite Moscow: Khalidov and Yallyev clash on stacked IBA PRO 19 card , Wed, 03 Jun 2026Deep Waters rules inaugural WR Bughouse Championship By Marlon Bernardino, , Tue, 02 Jun 2026HE TURKI ALALSHIKH: 'AJ vs PRENGA IN JEDDAH REINFORCES SAUDI ARABIA'S POSITION AS DESTINATION FOR WORLD'S LEADING EVENTS' , Tue, 02 Jun 2026ANTHONY JOSHUA VS KRISTIAN PRENGA TO TAKE PLACE IN JEDDAH ON JULY 25 – LIVE ON DAZN – AS HEAVYWEIGHTS FACE-OFF IN LONDON , Tue, 02 Jun 2026Ryan ‘The Bruiser’ Rozicki Gets a kick out of British sports fans , Tue, 02 Jun 2026GUSTAVO TRUJILLO CONTINUES HEAVYWEIGHT ASCENT WITH DEVASTATING FIRST-ROUND TKO , Mon, 01 Jun 2026 |

|
|
|
|
|