Hostile Argentenian Crowd Attacks Filipino Boxer After Spectacular Win

Filipino boxer John Casimero was attacked by a hostile crowd in Argentina after his spectacular win over Argentina’s Luis Alberto Lazarte at the Estadio Club Once Unidos in Mar del Plata, Argentina over the weekend.

Casimero, who was born in Ormoc City and presently resides in Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines is the former interim WBO Light Flyweight Champion. With the spectacular win, Casimero, who is only 21 years old, bagged the vacant IBF light flyweight title via a 10th-round stoppage of the 40-year-old Lazarte.

Casimero's win however was marred by a riot, as fans of Lasarte started throwing chairs and debris right after the referee declared Casimero the winner.

Casimero's handlers, led by Promoter Sammy Gello-ani, were hurt and badly shaken as hostile fans entered the ring and attacked members of Casimero's team.

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“It was an even fight at first but Casimero began to dominate Lazarte starting in the middle rounds. He knocked down Lazarte twice in round nine and knocked the Argentinian again in the tenth prompting the referee to stop the fight,” Gello-ani said

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As the angry fans entered the ring, Gello-ani said he lost sight of Casimero, but he found out later that his fighter was taken by referee Eddie Claudio to a safe place. Gello-ani also said that “referee Claudio took the fighter down the ring where one of our friends Osvaldo Prado hid him under the ring until the riot was over. Prado told me not to worry because Casimero was safe under the ring.” 

Police later escorted Casimero to his dressing room, while referee Claudio was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Sean Gibbon of Top Rank was reportedly hurt, along with Casimero's trainer Pingping Trepora and other members of the team.

After the riot, it was reported that Lazarte went to Casimero's dressing room to apologize for the unfortunate event. Likewise, Lazarte's promoter visited Team Casimero at their hotel and expressed his apology

With the win, Casimero improved his professional record to 16-2 with 10 knockouts, while Lazarte's record fell to 49-11-2 with 18 knockouts.