FORMER world champion Johnriel Casimero takes on his biggest fight in years when he faces ex-world title holder Luis Nery on April 18 at the Gazprom Sports Complex in Kyrgyzstan.
The fight will be promoted by Saikou x Lush Boxing as part of a three-day boxing event in the Central Asian country.
No title will be at stake in the 12-round junior featherweight bout, but its outcome could put the winner back in major contention for a world championship.
READ Casimero 2026 wish? A shot at Mexican star Luis Nery
For the 37-year-old Casimero, it’s the road back to being relevant again after being involved in several controversies that eventually led to him being stripped of his WBO bantamweight crown.
Nery, a two-division world champion from Tijuana, Mexico, is the biggest name that Casimero will face since scoring a split decision against former world champion and Olympic gold medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux in 2021 for the WBO 118-pound crown.
He fought in Kyrgyzstan last year, but lost by unanimous decision to Kyonosuke Kameda.
But Casimero bounced back before 2025 ended, scoring a fifth-round knockout of Tom Mizokoshi to hike his record to 35-5-1 including 24 KOs.
The 31-year-old Nery once fought undefeated Japanese champion Naoya Inoue for the undisputed bantamweight title but lost via a sixth-round stoppage.
Since that loss in 2024, the Mexican has strung up successive wins against Kameda and Sathaporn Saart in the same Kyrgyzstan boxing card last year where Casimero also fought.
Nery carries a 37-2 record with 28 KOs.
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