FORMER world champion Johnriel Casimero made a huge statement with a swift first-round demolition of Saul Sanchez in the main event of Treasure Boxing Promotion 7 on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, at the Yokohama Budokan in Yokohama, Japan.
Casimero wobbled and dropped Sanchez with a series of punches in the opening round. Although Sanchez survived the initial onslaught, he found himself back down on the canvass again after a solid left hook from Casimero.
The 35-year-old Casimero was very aggressive and battered Sanchez with successive power shots that forced the referee to intervene and stop the fight in the 2:41 mark of the first round.
Casimero improved to 34-4-1 with 23 knockouts, while Sanchez fell to 21-4 with 12 knockouts.
Casimero entered the fight overweight, but it proceeded as scheduled after he made the 128-pound limit during the same-day weigh-in.
Casimero is making another run at a world title. He’s currently rated No. 6 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), No. 7 by the World Boxing Council (WBC), and No. 13 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF).
Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue currently holds all the belts in the super-bantamweight division.
Meanwhile, Vince Paras lost to Japanese rival Hiroto Kyoguchi by majority decision in their closely-contested trilogy.
Two judges had identical 96-93 scores for Kyoguchi, while the other judge saw it as a 95-95 draw.
Paras dropped to 21-3-1 with 15 knockouts, while Kyoguchi, a former world champion, is now 19-2 with 12 knockouts.
Kyoguchi now has two wins over Paras. / EKA