Koki Kameda’s weekend doubleheader in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan produced an upset, an anticlimax, and an entirely expected result in its biggest bouts.
The first evening saw former three-division titlist John Riel Casimero (34-5-1, 23 KO) complete his lengthy fall from grace with an upset decision loss to Kyonosuke Kameda (16-5-2, 9 KO) at featherweight. Kameda, whose 2025 campaign had already seen him come up short against super bantamweight standouts Luis Nery (37-2, 28 KO) and Alan Picasso, forewent
his usual hard-charging style to frustrate a one-note Casimero over 10 rounds.
This marks Casimero’s first loss since a 2017 decision at the hands of Jonas Sultan, but it’s been anything but smooth sailing over the last eight years. Multiple weight misses and last-second pullouts effectively ended his time as a genuine elite, and at 36 years old, it’s hard to imagine him picking up the pieces after this latest disappointment.
The biggest fight on the show as far as divisional importance, an IBF flyweight final eliminator between former title challenger Rene Calixto Bibiano and two-time Olympic gold medalist Hasanboy Dusmatov, fell apart after Dusmatov hit the scales at the super flyweight limit. Though initially set to proceed anyway, Dusmatov was pulled on fight day due to unspecified medical issues.
In the second night’s featured attraction, the aforementioned Nery cruised past Sathaporn Saart (17-3, 9 KO) via wide technical decision. “Pantera” dropped Saart in the second round and swept two of the three scorecards before a clash of heads midway through the eighth sent them to the judges ahead of schedule. It’s anyone’s guess whether he can mix it up with the elite at 126, but he should still have enough in the tank at 30 years old to give it a proper college try.
