John Riel Casimero Wins WBO World Bantamweight Title With Third Round Win Over Zolani Tete

John Riel Casimero was promoted from a interim WBO World Bantamweight Champion to the real deal on Saturday after an explosive victory over Zolani Tete at the Arena Birmingham in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

The first two rounds of the fight were slow, with Tete dominating with a jab in a slow-starting contest.

Casimero scored a knockdown early in the third round, dropping Tete with a right hand. While the referee opted to continue the contest, it was clear for the next minute that Tete was still hurt. A left hook put Tete down on his face for a second knockdown seconds later. The referee stepped in shortly after Casimero landed a few more punches.

Casimero improved his record to 29-4, while Zolani Tete fell to 28-4. He previously fought in two interim WBO fights before, defeating both opponents via stoppage.

Callum Smith Gets Decision Win Over John Ryder

Callum Smith avoided an upset on Saturday, defeating John Ryder via decision to defend his WBA Super World Super and WBO Diamond Super Middleweight belts at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, UK.

Smith won in his hometown via unanimous decision (117-111, 116-112 and 116-112), with no knockdowns scored by either fighter in the bout.

The fight started slow, with Smith mostly throwing jabs. Ryder was throwing combinations of hooks periodically. Smith got a cut beside his right eyebrow in the fourth round, although it didn’t bother him too much.

Deeper into the fight they got more active. There were many rounds where either fighter winning could be argued.

While Smith’s win in front of his hometown crowd didn’t come off as controversial at the event, dissenting opinions from the scorecards were displayed online.

“Ryder deserved better,” said Mike Coppinger, writer for The Athletic and Boxing Insider.

In the co-main event of the night, James Tennyson defeated Craig Evans with an 11th round TKO win.

Billy Joe Saunders Earns Super Middleweight Belt In Dominant Performance

Billy Joe Saunders put on a dominant 12 round performance on Saturday, defeating Shefat Isufi via unanimous decision (120-108, 117-111 & 118-110) and becoming the new WBO Super Middleweight Champion. The championship was vacated prior to the fight which took place at Lamex Stadium, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK.

Saunders looked comfortable in the opening rounds, landing combinations and even finding time to taunt his opponent. He seemed to be more mobile than Isufi throughout. The only hiccup in his offence came in round 6 when Saunders was caught with two overhand rights that had him retreating. He walked the perimeter of the ring for the rest of the round.

After the fight, Saunders called out Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin whilst expressing his interest in a bout with Callum Smith. “Golovkin and Canelo, they don’t want that style… I’ll sign the contract twice to fight them,” said Saunders. Smith’s last bout was in September, defeating George Groves and extending his undefeated record to 25-0.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Saunders	Isufi
Round 1	10	9
Round 2	10	9
Round 3	10	9
Round 4	10	9
Round 5	10	9
Round 6	9	10
Round 7	10	9
Round 8	10	9
Round 9	10	9
Round 10	10	9
Round 11	10	9
Round 12	10	9
Total	119	109