John Riel Casimero beat Namibian opponent Filipus Nghitumbwa by unanimous decision to capture the World Boxing Organization (WBO) global super bantamweight title at Okada Manila Grand Ballroom in Parañaque City on Saturday. Casimero knocked down Nghitumbwa in the sixth round, eventually setting the tone for the 122-pound bout. The judges also deducted a point from Nghitumbwa in the 12th round for hitting Casimero behind the head. Two judges had it 116-110 while another scored 114-112, all for Casimero, who won in his first bout at home since 2019. Casimero improved to 33-4 win-loss (22 by knockout) while Nghitumbwa fell to 12-2. The Filipino is now one step closer to a meeting with WBO super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton Jr. of the United States. In the supporting bout, Weljon Mindoro failed to take the WBO Asia-Pacific junior middleweight title from Japanese champ Takeshi Inoue. The fight was ruled a split draw, with one judge scoring 117-111 for Inoue, another scoring 115-113 for Mindoro, and the third judge even at 114-114. Mindoro remained undefeated at 10-0-1 (10 KOs), while Inoue has a 19-2-1 record (11 KOs). Arnel Baconaje, meanwhile, won by unanimous decision against Jhon Gemino (117-111, 116-112, 116-112) to capture the Philippine super featherweight title. He raised his record to 16-7 (8 KOs) while Gemino has 23-17 (13 KOs).
Source: Philippines News Agency