John Riel Casimero’s win streak of nine fights ended on Thursday, Oct. 12, after settling for a fourth round technical draw against Japanese fighter Yukinori Oguni in their junior featherweight bout at the Ariake Arena in Koto-ku, Japan.

An accidental head clash between the two fighters left Oguni with a bloody gash on his head, prompting the ring physician along with referee Yuji Fukuchi to stop the fight at the 27-second mark of the fourth round.

Casimero was ahead in two judges’ scorecards, 29-28, while the other had Oguni leading by the same score when the fight was halted. The match, however, didn’t refer to the scorecards when it was stopped as it failed to get past the halfway mark of the scheduled 10-round bout resulting in the technical draw decision.

The draw not only dropped Casimero’s record to  33-4-1, with 22 knockouts but the result also wasted his chance to strut his power and make a statement as he continues his pursuit for a fight against Japanese star and former bantamweight king Naoya Inoue.

Casimero actually made a good account of himself in the opening rounds, catching the Oguni with staggering overhand rights to set up the pace.

 The former WBO bantamweight titleholder, however, looked a little winded in the ensuing rounds after being on the receiving end of perfect combinations. Casimero, however, regained footing with a booming right hook that rocked Oguni. 

The pride of Ormoc City pressed the action but Oguni retaliated with his own heavy blows before the accidental head clash occurred early in the fourth canto.