CEBU, Philippines - South African Moruti Mthalane retained his International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight title with a spectacular fifth round stoppage of Filipino challenger Johnreil Casimero yesterday at the Nasrec Indoor Arena in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In a report by boxingscene.com, Mthalane (27-2, 18KOs) found Casimero (14-2, 8KOs) a tough customer to handle in the first few rounds as the Ormoc City-native fighter showed aggressiveness against the South African champion.
The match was a war from the first round with both fighters trading big punches, but Casimero began to fade as the bout progressed and had enough when the champion wore him down with bigger shots in the fifth.
The 28-year-old Mthalane, who lost to Pinoy boxing champion Nonito Donaire Jr., connected some solid blows to the head forcing Casimero to quit at 1:51 mark of that fateful round.
It was Mthalane's fourth consecutive victory after losing to Donaire in 2008. (FREEMAN NEWS)