Casimero rips South African, grabs WBO bantam crown
John Riel Casimero demolished South African Zolani Tete Saturday night (early Sunday morning in Manila) in just three rounds to capture the WBO bantamweight title in Birmingham, England.
Tete took the first two rounds by keeping Casimero at bay with his long reach and height but the Filipino exploded with a right to Tete’s temple twice and had him crumbling in the center of the ring.
Though got up, he was visibly shaken as Casimero went after Tete in a savage attack that produced the second knockdown.
The British referee allowed Tete to continue but Casimero unleashed another combo that forced the third man on the ring to call a halt at 2:14 of the round.
The win made Casimero the country’s fourth reigning world champion after Manny Pacquiao, Jerwin Ancajas and Pedro Taduran and his brutal beatdown of the 5-9 Tete likewise enabled him to become the fourth Filipino ever to win at least three world titles in as many divisions.
Immediately after the victory, Casimero issued a challenge to Naoya Inoue of Japan, regarded as the best in the division.