At the American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas, Jamie McDonnell played the boss for the most part in his rematch with Tomoki Kameda. McDonnell, who defended his WBA Bantamweight title on the Dirrell-Rubio undercard, earned scores of 116-111, 115-112, and 117-110. Boxing Base agreed with the Unanimous Decision, having it similar at 116-111.
Kameda was game as ever and landed eye-catching blows of his own, but this was a fight that belonged to McDonnell – and most notably the Englishman’s jab. That was a punch that posed a problem for Kameda all night long, and McDonnell utilized it to pile on the pressure and push Kameda back. Two or three of the rounds in this sequel were hard to score – reflected on the judges’ scorecards – but there’s no arguing who the victor was.
McDonnell (27-2-1, 12 KO) set the pace, controlled the ring, and put in the exclamation mark by throwing combinations into the mix in the final rounds. Kameda (31-2, 19 knockouts) also suffered a knockdown in the 12th which didn’t his numbers ringside. Technically the 24-year-old slipped, but a right-hand from McDonnell helped him on his way. Kameda fans shouldn’t blame McDonnell or the referee for the slip – they should blame the canvas advertisement beneath his feet.
This was a ferociously competitive fight between two fighters who have a case for a rematch – if either would want it. Perhaps a couple of years from now. Following the win, Kameda isn’t in an awful place, but needs to rebuild nonetheless after picking up two straight defeats this year. McDonnell has some big fights ahead of him, particularly after this classy performance.
He could chase bigger fish at Bantamweight such as Shinsuke Yamanaka, but there’s talk the 29-year-old might move up to Junior Featherweight. If McDonnell does, there are even bigger names, and certainly bigger money fights waiting. A clash with any of Boxing Base’s Top 5 such as Scott Quigg, Carl Frampton, Nonito Donaire, not to mention Guillermo Rigondeaux, would produce a huge pay check. These fights may be high reward, but they are very, very high risk, however. All the aforementioned fighters are top-notch technicians and carry explosive power.
On a final note, this was a clash that really deserved to fill the place of main event, Dirrell-Rubio. We get why it wasn’t, but still, we hope one day boxing’s ‘smaller guys’ will get the appreciation ‘bigger guys’ do.
McDonnell-Kameda II: Round by Round
Round 1: Both men finding range with the jab. Left-hook from Kameda. McDonnell looking good with the jab. Kameda to the body. Both men studying each other. One-two from Kameda. Kameda, 10-9
Round 2: McDonnell putting his reach to good use with the jab. Piston-like. Kameda to the body. Kameda left-hook counter. Jab. McDonnell cut on forehead. Fiercely competitive stuff here in Texas. McDonnell trying to pressure. Kameda, 10-9 (20-18)
Round 3: McDonnell back on the jab. Kameda bringing in the jab now. One-two from McDonnell. Kameda to the body. Kameda jab, both men beginning to open up more. McDonnell jab frustrating Kameda. Right-hand. Left-hook, right-hand. McDonnell, 10-9 (28-29)
Round 4: McDonnell letting his hands go more confidently. Mixing it up. Kameda left-hook. To the body. One-two from McDonnell. Two hooks upstairs from Kameda. McDonnell jab paying dividends already. One-two from Kameda. McDonnell, 10-9 (38-38)
Round 5: Kameda gets a vicious uppercut in. McDonnell piles on the pressure once more. Kameda right upstairs. Kameda looking elusive, mobile. They exchange punches. McDonnell cutting off the ring. One-two from McDonnell. Left-hook. McDonnell edges, 10-9 (48-47)
Round 6: McDonnell looking sharp, bossing the action more and more. Almost too close to score this round. McDonnell, 10-9 (58-56)
Round 7: Kameda having a better round, finding his range more, getting off the jab. Could be fighting his way back into this thing. Kameda, 10-9 (66-67)
Round 8: Kameda letting his hands go. Two very disciplined fighters producing a true boxing match here. These rounds are too close to call. Judges will be split if this goes the distance, no doubt. Kameda, 10-9 (76-76)
Round 9: McDonnell and Kameda too evenly matched to separate them here. Kameda gets in a chopping right-hand. McDonnell responds with good combinations. McDonnell right-hand. Kameda to the body. McDonnell, 10-9 (86-85)
Round 10: McDonnell assertive with the jab. Doubling, tripling it up. Kameda jab. Both men opening up in final minute. Decent exchanges, blows landed. McDonnell. 10-9 (96-94)
Round 11: Both men exchanging ferociously now, landing serious leather. McDonnell chasing Kameda around the ring, cutting it off. Kameda elusive, answering his attacker. McDonnell looking dominant. McDonnell, 10-9 (106-103)
Round 12: Both men giving it their all, albeit in highly tactical fashion. Kameda gets knocked down? Or a slip? McDonnell doesn’t rush in. Kameda right-hand. McDonnell jab doing damage again. They open up in final seconds. The bell rings, and we go to the scorecards. It was technically a knockdown – leather landed as Kameda slipped. McDonnell, 10-9 (116-111)
Result: 116-111, 115-112, 117-110, McDonnell (Unanimous Decision)
Boxing Base Scorecard: 116-111, McDonnell
Give us your take on Dirrell-Rubio, McDonnell-Kameda II, and the rest of undercard, fight fans. Which direction does Kameda go in now? And who would present a great match-up for McDonnell?
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