John Riel Casimero vs Ryo Akaho Preview December 3rd, 2022
Former junior flyweight, flyweight and bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero of the Philippines is reportedly making his junior featherweight debut this Saturday, December 3rd when he takes on veteran Ryo Akaho of Japan. The 10-rounder from Incheon, South Korea can supposedly be seen live in Japan on a-sign-box.com as well as FITE TV. Casimero last fought in August, 2021 when he beat Guilllermo Rigondeaux via a dull 12-round split decision to retain his WBO Bantamweight Crown. He defended his title for the first time when stopped Duke Micah in the third round after winning the belt in November, 2019 when he stopped Zolani Tete in the third round. Akaho last saw action in September when he stopped Edrin Dapudong in the first round.
Casimero vs Akaho Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Ryo Akaho +400
- John Riel Casimero -600
My Pick
The 33-year-old Casimero climbs into the ring with a mark of 31-4 with 21 Ko’s and has boxed 234 rounds since turning pro in 2007. He’s gone 9-2 in world title fights with 6 Ko’s and is 6-3 with 4 Ko’s against former, current, and future world champions as he has also beaten Luis Alberto Lazarte, Pedro Guevara, Amnat Ruenroeng and Charlie Edwards and was defeated by Ramon Garcia Hirales, Moruti Mthalane and Amnat Ruenroeng with Mthalane being the only man to stop him, which he did in five rounds in 2011.
Casimero’s other pro loss came at the hands of Jonas Sultan by 12-round unanimous decision in 2017. He’s also captured several regional and minor titles as a pro including the Philippines Boxing Federation Flyweight Title and the WBO Asia Pacific, Interim WBO and Interim IBF World Light Flyweight Titles. The former world champion previously held the IBF Light Flyweight Title from July 2012 to May 2014 and defended it three times as well as the IBF Flyweight Title from May to December 2016 which he defended once.
Casimero stands 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 64-inch reach and has pretty good power in his hands with a current knockout ratio of 60 per cent. He’s been stopped once, but also has a pretty reliable chin. He’s a solid and underrated pro who isn’t really that well known outside of Asia but has gone 12-3 with 7 Ko’s when boxing outside of his homeland. He was supposed to unify the bantamweight title against Paul Butler but make himself sick trying to make the weight and the proposed bouts never came off, leading him to move up in weight.
Akaho is a 36-year-old veteran who will be fighting outside of Japan as a pro for the very first time. He climbs into the ring with a mark of 39-2-2 with 26 Ko’s and has fought 234 rounds since turning pro in 2005. His two defeats came at the hands of Yota Sato by unanimous decision in 2012 in a shot at the WBC Super Flyweight Title and Panya Uthok by second-round stoppage in in 2015 in a shot at the vacant WBO Bantamweight Crown. His draws were against Hiroaki Kusonoki over eight rounds in 2007 and with Daigo Nakahiro over 10 rounds in 2009.
At 5-feet-6-inches tall with a 67-inch reach, Akaho has a two-inch edge in height on Casimero as well as three inches in reach. He also has pretty good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 60.5 per cent. Since turning pro, Akaho has managed to capture the vacant Oriental and Pacific Super Flyweight Title, vacant WBO International Bantamweight Crown and vacant Japanese Bantamweight Title.
Prediction…
Casimero is a world class boxer while Akaho is a fine Japanese competitor with good power and a solid chin but has fallen just short when moving up in class. Casimero is the slightly smaller man but is a few years younger with greater experience at the world level. This is a good test for Casimero if he’s moving up in weight but it’s one that he should ultimately pass.
A good matchup with Casimero’s aggressive style being the difference.
Play Casimero -600 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
John Riel Casimero betting • Ryo Akaho betting