John Riel Casimero made a strong statement in his U.S. television debut.
The bantamweight titleholder stopped game, but overmatched challenger Duke Micah in the third round on the pay-per-view doubleheader Saturday in Uncasville, Conn.
The fighters wasted no time getting at it, as the pace was fast from the opening bell.
Casimero (30-4, 21 KOs) seized control of the fight with a left hook that put Micah (24-1, 19 KOs) down about a minute into Round 2.
The Ghanaian, hurt badly, showed tremendous courage to survive the rest of the round — and actually fight back with some ferocity — but the end was near.
Casimero continued to pound the challenger in the third round, finally landed a left uppercut followed by a right uppercut that prompted the referee to stop the fight.
The official time was 54 seconds into Round 3.
Casimero hadn’t fought for since last November, when he stopped Zolani Tete to win his title. The Filipino now has six consecutive knockouts.
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