Luis Nery vs John Riel Casimero set for April 18 in Kyrgyzstan

Former titleholders meet at junior featherweight in Bishkek as both look to extend their careers

Luis Nery and John Riel Casimero will meet in a junior featherweight fight on April 18 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Both fighters previously held titles in the lighter divisions.

The Ring first reported the fight, which brings together two familiar names from the lower-weight divisions who once held belts but now operate outside the championship picture.

Neither fighter holds a title, and neither has been part of the division’s real championship conversation in recent seasons. Nery previously held belts at bantamweight and junior featherweight, though his recent appearances at featherweight showed the limits of moving up. At 126 pounds, he looked undersized and unable to impose the same pressure that once carried him through the lighter divisions, which makes a return to the 122-pound class a more practical move.

Saikou x Lush Boxing will promote the event as part of a three-day boxing showcase in the Kyrgyz capital. The card is scheduled for the Gazprom Sports Complex, an unusual setting for two fighters who earlier in their careers appeared regularly on larger international stages.

Nery (37-2, 28 KOs) will fight in Kyrgyzstan for the second straight time following an appearance there last October. The 31-year-old Mexican southpaw defeated Sathaporn Saart by eighth-round technical decision after an accidental head clash caused the bout to go to the scorecards.

That victory marked his second consecutive win since Naoya Inoue stopped him in the sixth round in May 2024. Nery returned earlier in 2025 with a seventh-round stoppage of Kyonosuke Kameda before extending the rebound stretch with the win over Saart.

Casimero (35-5-1, 24 KOs), now 37, built his reputation by collecting titles at junior flyweight, flyweight and bantamweight earlier in his career. Activity has been limited over the last few seasons and the results uneven, leaving him with a 2-1-1 record in his last four bouts.

His most recent fight came in December when he stopped Tom Mizokoshi in the fifth round in Japan. Two months earlier he appeared on the same October card in Kyrgyzstan where Nery fought Saart and lost a ten-round unanimous decision to Kameda.