Japanese spoils Casimero's ring return

MANILA, Philippines -- After being away from the boxing ring for a year, Filipino boxer John Riel Casimero suffered a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Kyonosuke Kameda Saturday evening (Manila time) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Kameda, the 27-year-old pride of Osaka, spoiled the return of Casimero as all three judges scored the bout in his favor after 10 rounds. He rose to 16-5-2 (win-loss-draw), while Quadro Alas dropped to 34-5-1.

The Japanese boxer was more methodical compared to the Filipino, who hunted his opponent almost the whole match.

Casimero tried to land punches, but Kameda had the better of their exchanges.

And in the latter rounds, it was a masterclass of boxing for the taller Kameda, who remained slippery but was still able to take the 36-year-old Filipino apart piece by piece with crisp shots.

"Alam ko na mas gusto nyo na manalo tayo pero ganyan talaga ang buhay, may panalo at may talo," Casimero posted on his Facebook page.

"Maraming salamat kay God at sa lahat ng sumuporta! Bawi tayo sa susunod.. God bless us all!!" he added. 
The brash Filipino last fought in October last year, where he defeated Saul Sanchez via technical knockout.

Shortly after his win, though, Casimero was slapped with a one-year ban by the Japan Boxing Commission for being overweight in that match.