MANILA, Philippines – It wasn?t exactly a clean fight but IBF flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng?s Filipino manager Aljoe Jaro said yesterday the Thai did what he had to do to win. Ormoc City challenger Johnriel Casimero was dropped twice, repeatedly wrestled to the canvas, headlocked and outfoxed by the crafty Amnat in losing a unanimous 12-round decision at the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok last Saturday night.
Casimero, 25, couldn?t pin down Amnat who used every trick in the book to keep the Filipino from landing his power shots. In the third round, it appeared that Amnat?s glove touched the canvas after taking a left hook but American referee Larry Doggett ruled it a slip. Amnat was credited with a knockdown in the second round and another in the seventh.
The fight was described as ?foul-filled,? ?ugly? and ?dirty? by media sources. Amnat received at least five warnings from Doggett before he was finally docked a point for holding in the 11th round. Jaro called it a tactical fight. ?Our strategy was to stick close to Casimero so he wouldn?t have the distance to punch,? said Jaro. ?We were surprised that Casimero didn?t attack hard in the early rounds. We expected him to pressure Amnat. We knew Casimero would go to the body and prepared for it. Amnat never got hurt because Casimero couldn?t connect cleanly. Amnat is too slippery. He has good footwork. It?s not easy to hit him.?
Jaro said Amnat caught Casimero coming in with a left uppercut in the second round. ?I think Casimero didn?t expect Amnat to stand up and fight,? he said. ?There was some confusion in the third round because Casimero thought he scored a knockdown. But it was a slip. The referee was correct in not calling a knockdown. After the eighth round, I told Amnat to just pace. We were way ahead on points so we could afford to coast. Casimero tried to pick it up in the late rounds but just couldn?t get his range.?
Jaro said Casimero never adjusted to Amnat?s style. ?I spoke to Casimero?s trainer (Jun Agrabio) after the fight,? he continued. ?Jun wasn?t happy with the way Amnat fought. I?ll admit Amnat did some judo to throw down Casimero but that because he was getting hit in the thigh and being held. That?s part of boxing. Casimero is a hard hitter so we had to do things to make it difficult for him to land. Amnat kept adjusting. At first, he engaged. Then, he jabbed. We kept Casimero on the defensive. Amnat worked on increasing his power in the gym and it showed in the fight as he had Casimero groggy. Amnat isn?t dirty, he?s just smart.?
Jaro said the outcome was bittersweet. While his prot?g? Amnat retained the title, he did at the expense of a Filipino. ?Sammy (Gello-ani, Casimero?s manager) admitted that Amnat is a very talented fighter,? he said. ?Casimero himself told me Amnat is sobrang magulang. They couldn?t figure Amnat out, they couldn?t solve their problem.? Dean’s Corner ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
Jaro said he couldn?t believe how one judge scored it 113-112. The two other judges had it 116-110 and 115-110. ?It wasn?t close,? he said. ?Amnat scored two knockdowns and was in control of the fight from the start.?
In the undercard, WBC No. 1 minimumweight Denver Cuello floored Indonesia?s Boy Tanto once in the third round and dropped him again in the fifth before the carnage was stopped. Cuello, another Jaro prot?g?, toyed with Tanto who never had a chance. In the fifth, Tanto got up from a knockdown on rubbery legs and the referee quickly stopped it.
Jaro said WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has promised Cuello a title shot before the year ends. ?Denver is the mandatory challenger,? said Jaro. ?The WBC champion is Wanheng Menayothin of Thailand. We?ll go to a purse bidding to settle where to hold the fight. It could be in Thailand or the Philippines.?
Tanto, 29, was a tune-up opponent for Cuello. The Indonesian?s record fell to 9-17 with 1 KO. He?s been stopped in 11 fights. But Tanto had won four of his last six before facing Cuello. He scored a 12-round decision over Melianus Mirin in his previous outing in Jakarta five months ago.
Jaro was also in the corner of 2004 Olympic gold medalist Manus Boonjumbong who outpointed Indonesia?s Jamed Jalarante in a middleweight four-rounder on the same card. Boonjumbong, 35, made his pro debut after a distinguished amateur career where he won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics and the bronze at the 2008 Olympics, both as a lightwelterweight. The Thai also bagged a gold at the 2006 Asian Games.
