John Riel Casimero fought Japanese Ryo Akaho to a no-contest when their scheduled 10-round super-bantamweight bout was stopped in the second round yesterday in Seoul, South Korea.

Japanese referee Michiaki Someya called a halt after Casimero landed a glancing blow on Akaho's nape after the two had exchanged punches on the ropes with the Filipino banger scoring heavily.

Someya warned Casimero for hitting at the back of the neck and it apparently gave Akaho the idea of a way to escape an imminent knockout defeat by complaining that he'd been hit illegally.

It was right there and then things became interesting when Akaho slumped in a neutral corner looking bewildered and hurt in an attempt to convince the referee that Casimero committed a foul.

At one point, a stool was brought up so Akaho could sit and recover as Casimero had struck him with thunderous blows just before the third man on the ring made that dubious call.

A few minutes later, the fight was officially stopped and what looked like a ringside physician went to see Akaho as Casimero walked around the ring looking disappointed.

For several minutes, Akaho applied an ice pack on his nape to show the severity of the damage he sustained.

Interestingly, before Casimero was warned for throwing an illegitimate punch, Akaho was awarded a knockdown although the 33-year-old Leyte native just stumbled after losing his balance during a mix-up.

Enraged by the ruling, Casimero went after Akaho and rained blows on him.

Casimero's camp was disgusted by the outcome but could not do anything more.

It was Casimero's first fight in 16 months.