Filipino boxer Johnriel Casimero defended his World Boxing Organisation (WBO) bantamweight crown when he scored a split decision victory over Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux in Carson, California, in the United States on Sunday morning.
It was clear from the first gong that Casimero wanted to stop the two-time Olympic gold medallist. However, Rigondeaux made sure that he continued to frustrate Casimero until the end of the fight.
Two judges whose score cards read 116-112 and 117-111 gave the fight to Casimero while a third saw Rigondeaux as the winner on 115-113.
It remains to be seen whether Casimero’s next opponent would be unbeaten Japanese Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue or Nonito ‘Filipino Flash’ Donaire.
Inoue is a World Boxing Association (WBA) ‘Super’ and International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight champion while Donaire is a World Boxing Council (WBC) titlist.
