THE three-division world champion Johnriel Casimero proved to everyone that he still has a lot left in the tank at 37 years old after scoring an impressive fourth-round technical knockout of fellow former world titleholder Luis Nery last June 6, 2026, at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Aichi, Japan.
Casimero had his power on full display against a feared puncher in Nery.
Casimero shocked Nery in the opening round and sent him to the floor with a left hook. He dropped him two more times in that round with similar punches.
In the second round, Casimero caught Nery with a right that knocked him down again. Casimero continued to dominate and dropped Nery again in the third round with another left hook.
Finally, Casimero finished the job in the fourth round with another solid right. This time, referee Nobuto Ikehara had seen enough and stopped the bout 40 seconds into the fourth.
Casimero immediately challenged undisputed super bantamweight king Naoya Inoue to a fight, which has been his longtime dream.
Casimero improved to a win-loss-draw record of 36-5-1 with 25 knockouts, while Nery fell to 37-3 with 28 knockouts.
On the other hand, Kenneth Llover suffered his first career setback after suffering a split decision defeat to undefeated American Michael Angeletti in their International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight title fight in the same event.
It was a close fight, but Angeletti had the upper hand and got the nod from two of the three judges.
Japanese judge Saemi Okinawa scored it 115-112 and Aussie judge Carl Zappia had it 116-111 for Angeletti, while Thai judge Cherdchai Srirat saw it differently and scored it 115-112 for Llover.
The 23-year-old Llover suffered his first career loss and dropped to 17-1 with 12 knockouts, while Angeletti remained undefeated at 15-0 with
eight knockouts.
One-time world title challenger Vince Paras also lost in the undercard. Paras (25-5-1, 19 KOs) bowed down to Japanese prospect Aoi Yokoyama (5-0, 1 KO) by unanimous decision. / EKA
