Casimero-Akaho No Contest Bout Spoils Japanese Boxing Promo in Korea
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 05 Dec 2022
It was essentially a Japanese boxing promotion but held in South Korea, at the Paradise City Hotel in Incheon.
In fact, it featured a total of six Japanese fighters going up against four Sokor boxers in the preliminaries, a Mexican former two divisions world champion Jhonny Gonzalez in the main supporting bout and a Filipino former three-division titlist Johnriel Casimero in the main event.
The Japanese fighters were having almost a field day as they have been having back home heading to the main event, winning four out of five with Takuya Watanabe upsetting Gonzalez by majority decision and two out of three other Japanese victors winning by first round technical knockouts.
Then came the main event between Casimero and grizzled veteran world rated super bantamweight fighter Ryu Akaho that ended in a fiasco in less than two of the scheduled ten rounds as the assigned Japanese referee Michiaki Someya after talking to Akaho and consultation with other ring officials declared a no contest ruling. Akaho was in no condition to continue on account of injury due to an alleged rabbit punch.
Boxing rules stipulate that a bout could be declared a draw or no contest if it ends in less than two rounds without a knockout or clear winner.
Apart from the fact that the alleged rabbit punching,though taboo in boxing, was accidental and only barely grazed Akaho, the no contest ruling was met with disgust especially by Filipino fans inside the venue and watching via live streaming and later from downloaded stream via YouTube.
Aside from Watanabe, the other Japanese winners included featherweight Junji Shimada (now 3-0) and bantamweights Kendo Uchigamae and Riku Masuda who both won by first round TKO and are 2-0. The lone loser was welterweight Hiroki Okada, now 20-3, an ex OPBF super lightweight champion, who lost by 7th round TKO to South Korean Jin Su Kim, now 9-5.
Curiously, the promotion as of this writing, does not make news in Japan or any other usual international boxing media outlets as fightnews.
Why the promotion featuring the return of Casimero and his supposed debut with his new Japanese promoter was kept under wraps for long and held in South Korea and not in Japan remains a mystery.
These raises speculation about Casimero's acceptability with Japanese fans following his tirades against their current hero, Naoya Inoue.
Per Philboxing.com editor in Chief Dong Secuya account, the fight went as follows:
Footage from a YouTube video uploaded by South Korea's SBS Sports saw a feeling out first round action where Casimero connected a good left to the head and another left to the body of Akaho who also scored from his jabs. In the second round Casimero became aggressive early and immediately connected with a booming right to the head of Akaho. Casimero continued to put on the pressure when a grazing back of the head counterpunch by Akaho sent an outbalanced Casimero touching the canvas with both of his hands. Japanese referee Michiaki Someya ruled it a knockdown and administered the eight-count on Casimero. Riled, Casimero came in hard on Akaho and connected with a series of powerful head and body shots to the retreating Japanese who at one point was holding on for dear life against the ropes. With plenty of time remaining in the round, it seems a knockdown or a knockout is imminent.
With 44 seconds remaining in the round with Akaho, who was knocked out in the 2nd round by Pungluang Sor Singyu in Thailand in 2015, appeared to be badly hurt and groggy, Someya stopped the action and warned Casimero not to hit at the back of the head. The replay showed that Casimero grazed Akaho's back of the head when the Japanese ducked Casimero's right cross. Inexplicably, Akaho then touched the back of his head and turned his back from the action, went to a neutral corner and stayed there forever, apparently decided he no longer want to continue to fight. The Japanese referee even called for a chair so Akaho can rest properly.
Eventually the fight was ruled a no-contest.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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