JOHN RIEL CASIMERO knocked out Amnat Ruenroeng in four rounds last night to lift the IBF world flyweight title.
Ruenroeng had outpointed Casimero 11 months earlier in a foul-filled affair, but the defiant Filipino dropped Amnat twice before he was counted out.
After a cagey opening three rounds, Casimero decked the Thai with a check left hook in the fourth. He swarmed in, and a well-timed left hook to the ribs crumbled the champion and he couldn’t beat the count at 2-10.
Ruenroeng – easily one of the dirtiest fighters of the lower divisions – was dropped in their first meeting, though it was ruled a slip before he earned a unanimous decision. Prior to that, he had beaten the likes of Kazuto Ioka, McWilliams Arroyo and Chinese sensation Zou Shiming.
This rematch took place at the IBF’s convention in Beijing, China and the weigh-in was marred by controversy. Both men weighed in well over the 112lb limit – Ruenroeng at 117lbs and Casimero at 113 – only for the IBF to claim the original weigh-in was just a photo op. They stated the ground the ‘staged’ weigh-in was held on was uneven, resulting in skewed weights. Both fighters allegedly made the championship weight officially at the hotel later on.
It is Ruenroeng’s first professional loss while former light-fly boss Casimero has thrown himself in the mix in a division ruled by pound-for-pound king Roman Gonzalez.
