It might be time to call a spade a spade for John Riel “Quadro Alas” Casimero.
Casimero (34-5-1, 23 KOs) suffered a lopsided unanimous decision loss to Japanese fighter Kyonosuke Kameda (16-5-2, 9 KOs) on Saturday night in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in his return fight after a year-long suspension. Judges scored the 10-round bout 99-92, 98-92, and 97-93 for Kameda, who used slick boxing to neutralize the Filipino’s frenetic but often ineffective attacks.
Early in the fight, Kameda focused on defense, choosing to counter the aggressive Casimero with precise left hooks and well-timed jabs. But by the second half of a mostly dreadful and boring fight, Kameda was already going on the offensive to complement his elusive defense. The Filipino tried pushing the pace once more in the latter rounds, but his wild offense just couldn’t fluster the Japanese fighter.
Reality Check for Casimero
Casimero, who was suspended for a year by the Japanese Boxing Commission for missing weight in his October 2024 fight against Saul Sanchez, looked nothing like the former champion he once was against Kameda. The 36-year-old Filipino won titles at 108, 112, and 118 and was being touted by fans as a foil to another Japanese, Naoya Inoue. But on Saturday, he looked like a beaten, washed-up fighter.
His fans can claim Casimero was rusty. They can say he’s slowing down because of age. And maybe there’s a tinge of truth to both counts. But the harsh reality is that the former three-division world champion never had the requisite discipline to maximize his physical gifts—speed, concussive power, top-level reflexes, and even a granite chin. He could’ve done more. He could’ve been more.
From missing weight badly to getting into controversies, Casimero has never carried himself like a true champion. And as his loss to Kameda showed, he never got better. He’s still the same come-forward aggressor who throws wildly in search of that one big shot to turn the fight in his favor. Unfortunately for Casimero, he never landed that big shot against Kameda.
Now, at 36, one could argue that Casimero still has enough time left to author a better, more fitting ending to his boxing career. But the harsh reality—again—is that nothing in this man’s checkered history suggests he can turn things around for the better.
So, the spade in this case is this: It might be time for John Riel Casimero to hang those gloves up for good.
(You can watch the full fight below.)
