Tomoki Kameda Robbed in PBC Rematch Against Jamie McDonnell

By Chris “Man of Few Words” Benedict

Former bantamweight titlist Tomoki Kameda is a fast-moving, power-punching tactician with international influences and appeal.

Born into the fighting Kameda family of Osaka, Japan, Tomoki and his brothers Koki and Daiki are the only trio of siblings to have concurrently worn world championship belts. Tomoki was forced by the WBO to relinquish his bantamweight title after proceeding with what he wished to be a unification bout with Jamie McDonnell back in May, against the organization’s wishes as they considered McDonnell’s WBA Regular championship to have been unworthy of such a coupling. That very title, incidentally, which McDonnell won from Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat on the undercard of the Carl Froch and George Groves rematch at Wembley Stadium on May 31st of last year, had been previously vacated by Tomoki’s brother Koki (33-1, 16 KOs) when he opted to move down to super-flyweight rather than face a mandatory challenge from-and unification with-WBA Super champion Anselmo Moreno.

Daiki (29-5, 18KOs) had held the WBA and WBC flyweight titles as well as the WBA and IBF versions of the super-flyweight championship but his reputation was tarnished when his boxing license was suspended following an ugly 2007 unanimous decision loss to WBC flyweight champion Daisuke Naito during which Daiki repeatedly threw elbows as often as punches and, at one point, bodyslammed Naito. The Kameda brothers’ father and trainer Shiro has still not appealed his own banishment from Japanese boxing stemming both from Daiki’s slapstick farce against Naito as well as allegations of his having bribed and threatened officials.

Tomoki wanted to distance himself from the shame brought to the Kameda family name and accomplished this by uprooting his dreams of competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and transplanting them 11,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean in Mexico City where he, only 15 and too young to compete, opted to turn professional instead of holding out for the 2012 summer games in London. Kameda won the WBO title he surrendered this past spring by earning a unanimous decision over Paulus Ambunda in the Philippines on August 1, 2013 and successfully defended it three times including a 7th round knockout of current champion Pungluang Sor Singyu with one of his trademark bombastic left-hand body shots the same night Canelo Alvarez won a split decision over Erislandy Lara at the MGM Grand last July.

Complimenting his already savory fistic menu by throwing some more global flavor into the mix, Kameda employed the services of Las Vegas-based Cuban trainer Ismael Salas, who has been guiding the career of Guillermo Rigondeaux, in the interim between the first McDonnell fight and this afternoon’s rematch. Interestingly, Tomoki’s father Shiro also worked his son’s corner. Kameda and McDonnell last met on May 9th in a barnburner that put to shame the sloppy PBC main event between Ricky Burns and Omar Figueroa in Hidalgo, Texas. McDonnell squeaked out an across-the-board 114-113 points win after recovering from a third-round knockdown (the first of McDonnell’s career) when Tomoki bent his knees, feinted a kidney punch with the left hand, and shot a hard overhand right into the champion’s temple instead. The decision’s hairline differential, which realistically could have gone either way, and the intensity of the action which accounted for a combined 1,000 punches thrown (800 of which were power shots) made a return engagement a logical and highly anticipated conclusion.

Besides Jamie McDonnell’s WBA title belt, personal pride was on the line in Sunday’s PBC rematch in Corpus Christi, Texas. Kameda was intent upon avenging his only career defeat and McDonnell, critical of Tomoki’s stamina and predicting a stoppage within 8 rounds, was looking to earn the respect he felt was denied him-especially in victory-following their first fight. Kameda established the pace of the fight and ownership of the ring, not to mention what appeared to be a significant lead early on as the two combatants renewed hostilities, with superior hand speed, foot work, lateral movement, and left hooks thrown from distant angles. A cut opened over McDonnell’s left brow halfway through the second, but it would not worsen or in any way impair Jamie’s vision. Indeed, he came out stronger in the 6th and 7th rounds, scoring effectively with left jabs which were followed by right hands that backed Kameda up for the first time. For the most part, however, Tomoki conjured answers for everything that McDonnell had to offer in the form of three, four, or five punch combinations.

An awkward 12th round knockdown occurred when Kameda’s right fool slipped out from under him during a pivot to his left at the same instant that a right hand thrown by McDonnell slammed high off his head, behind the left ear. This mishap notwithstanding, Kameda had clearly done more than enough to earn the decision and the WBA bantamweight championship. While the judges’ scorecards (115-112, 116-111, and 117-110) were reflective of the disparity between the two gladiators, the unthinkable preface to the ring announcer’s declaration of “…and still bantamweight champion” could have not been more unwelcome or less justifiable. Both contests between Kameda and McDonnell were hard-fought and evenly-matched affairs but a 2-0 advantage to Jamie McDonnell speaks less to the possibility of a rubber match with Tomoki than Jamie’s intention to abandon the division and step up to super-bantamweight, throwing open the door to face-offs with fellow Brits Scott Quigg and Carl Frampton. Now 31-2, with 19 KOs, those two controversial losses have come in consecutive outings for Tomoki Kameda and, therefore, leave his prizefighting future in a state of uncertainty that is not the case for his more fortunate adversary.

To make matters worse for the Kameda clan, Daiki (fighting for the first time in 19 months) dropped an 8-round split decision to Victor Ruiz in a non-televised undercard bout. Tomoki, for what it’s worth, brought no dishonor to his family or boxing fraternity. In fact, he accepted defeat, through his interpreter and in the presence of the very criminals responsible for the thievery, with a quiet dignity mostly lacking in boxing today.

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