KNOCKOUT FILLED UNDERCARD AT THE SM SKYDOME
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 17 Feb 2019
METRO MANILA- John Riel Casimero sent a message to the bantamweight division with his brutal performance against Japanese Kenya Yamashita. The former two-division champion from Ormoc City came out firing in the opening round. His punches landed with increasing frequency as the rounds progressed.
Casimero added hard body shots in the fourth but Yamashita showed his toughness and tried his best to mount an offense. But in the fifth round, Yamashita was reeling, bleeding and dazed at the final ten seconds. The ring doctor checked on him and the Japanese cornerman insisted they want to continue.
Casimero continued his assault and Yamashita collapsed into a bloody mess. The fight was stopped at the 47 second mark of the 6th and medical personnel at ringside attended to the Japanese. He was able to recover and walk out of the ring.
Casimero, a former IBF junior flyweight and flyweight world champion, gave a good performance but pundits at ringside felt that he needs to put more work in the gym to add pop to his punches against the tougher 118 pounders.
?I want to win a world title at bantamweight,? Casimero told this writer during the weigh-in. ?Ancajas will be moving up to 118, but I will be ahead of him.?
Casimero missed his chance to fight IBF junior bantamweight Jerwin Ancajas when he was upset by Jonas Sultan in 2017. Casimero mentioned newly crowned WBC bantamweight champ Nordien Oubaali of France as one of those who he wants to fight.
Casimero is now 26-4,17KO?s. Yamashita drops to 13-5,10KO?s.
Carlo Penalosa.
Carlo "Too Sharp" Pe?alosa knocked out Watana Phenbaan of Thailand with a well-timed right hook to the body in the third round. Carlo was more measured with his attack and waited for the right moment to step on the gas. His record is now 14-1,7KO?s.
Ifugao southpaw Carl Jammes Martin opened with a two-fisted attack against Petchorchae Kokietgym. Martin?s whirlwind offense was too much for the Thai who became a human punching bag forcing his corner to signal the referee that his boxer has had enough going into the fourth round.
Martin (12-0,11KO?s) has a fighting style made for television. He had one of the largest cheering sections during the event. The world ranked bantamweight will need tougher opponents for his development but at the present, he got the much needed attention from the casual fans his Metro Manila television debut.
Carl Jammes Martin.
The show was opened by Mark Tihuk beating Ruben Traza by unanimous decision and Jenel Lausa winning a split verdict against Rolly Llino.
The main event of the night was the resounding victory of Dave Pe?alosa over Mexican Marcos Cardenas for the WBO Oriental featherweight title.
Cardenas went the distance against Genesis Servania in Cebu way back in 2011 but the 2019 version proved to be less durable. Dave?s offense had a lot to do with it. Pe?alosa neutralized the length of Cardenas and delivered a brutal mix of body and head shots. The fourth round saw Cardenas getting knocked down thrice prompting Referee Atty Danrex Tapdasan to call a halt at the 2:47 mark.
Pe?alosa?s performance prompted his uncle and promoter Gerry Pe?alosa to declare that his nephew is ripe for a world title shot. Gerry said he will look if any of the featherweight champions is willing to defend in the Philippines.
The bouts were aired live over ESPN 5.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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