Casimero tells Inoue:”You’re next” (WBO champ annihilates Micah in 3 in boxing masterclass)

CEBU, Philippines —  In a splendid show of boxing firepower, three-division world champion John Riel “Quadro Alas” Casimero bombed out the previously undefeated African challenger Duke Micah of Ghana in three rounds to retain his WBO bantamweight title on Saturday night (Sunday morning Phl time) at the Mohegan Sun Hotel and Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.

It was Casimero’s first successful defense of the belt he seized after dethroning South African champion Zolane Tete also via a spectacular three-round stoppage on November 30, 2019 at the Birmingham Arena in United Kingdom.

Casimero pressed the attack button from the get go but the New York-based Micah, armed with a perfect 24-0 record with 19KOs going into the fight, courageously locked himself up in a close-quarter battle with the Ormoc City fighter in the opening frame.

In the early goings of round two, the 31-year-old Casimero sneaked in a solid left to the temple that dropped a badly hurt Micah to the canvas.

Micah got up visibly dazed and wobbly only to receive another heavy bombardments from the superbly in-form Casimero. The Ghanaian, however, showed big fighting heart in overcoming that punishing ordeal.

From thatmoment on though, it was obvious that it’s only a matter of time before Casimero knocks the lights out of Micah.

Carrying on his relentless offensive in the third round, Casimero fired an explosive left uppercut to the chin of the still groggy Micah that sent the hapless African staggering in deep trouble with nowhere to go.

As Casimero was about to launch another wave of attack, referee Steve Willis wisely stepped in to wave off the match at 54 seconds in round three to prevent Micah from further damage.

 “I worked hard and got the win tonight. In the first round I saw the body shot hurt him and thought I could get him out right away, but he’s a good boxer who was undefeated for a reason,” said Casimero, who improved his record to 30-4 now spiked with 21KOs.

“The second round the uppercut hurt him, but Duke Micah works hard, he’s strong and has a good chin. I knew I was facing a good fighter, so I didn’t expect to knock him out so fast. He’s strong so I was prepared to go all 12 rounds,” he added.

Casimero then did not mince words in calling out again the unbeaten WBA/IBF champion Naoya “Monster” Inoue (19-0, 16KOs) of Japan for a unification bout.

Casimero was originally set to face Inoue last April, the reason why he set foot in Las Vegas in February, but the megafight was pushed back to a later date due to the global pandemic. 

After several postponements, the hotly-anticipated showdown was eventually called off by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum apparently due to economic reasons, effectively stalling Casimero’s Monster-hunting quest in Vegas.

“I’m the real monster. Naoya Inoue is scared of me. You’re next. I would have knocked out anyone today,” said Casimero. “ If Inoue doesn’t fight me, then I’ll fight Guillermo Rigondeaux, Luis Nery, or any of the top fighters.”