Koki Kameda Survives Knockdown, Edges Jung-Oh Son

By Jake Donovan

Koki Kameda capped what has been a historic year for his fighting family, though there was nothing easy about his latest ring effort. In fact, the defending bantamweight titlist was fortunate to leave foreign soil with his title still intact, overcoming a stiff challenge from unheralded challenger Jung-Oh Son to claim an unpopular split decision Tuesday evening on the road in Jeju, South Korea.

In a 2013 campaign that saw the Kameda family twice enter the record books, the eldest brother decided to add a new wrinkle to their ongoing story. Kameda has only fought  twice outside of his native Japan, those occassions coming in back-to-back fights in Mexico in 2008. The main purpose of those bouts was for his family to set up a promotional operation.

On Tuesday evening, Kameda became just the third champion from Japan to defend his title in Korea, and he was reminded every step of the way that he was far away from home.

Son was a massive underdog heading into the contest, which marked his first bid at a major title. Whether it was the adrenaline rush from fighting at home or what was at stake, Son truly rose to the occasion, making for a much more exciting fight than anyone expected.

Given the tempo of the bout, it's possible that the effort exceeded Kameda's pre-fight expectations as well. The southpaw is naturally comfortable in setting up his offense through his defense, which means hit-or-miss in terms of the level of action offered in his fights.

The early going saw Kameda attempt to keep the fight at a deliberate pace. It worked only in avoiding most of the incoming from his aggressive challenger, but never truly gained any momentum.

Son quickly discovered that aggression was his best bet to pull off a massive upset, and began laying the foundation in round two. Most of his punches were coming up short, but it was a wise gamble considering his home surroundings and that the crowd would vocally support any effort offered.

Kameda grew wise to the tactic and switched gears midway through the fight. What he had to offer offensively hardly caused a ripple as far as his opponent was concerned, but it was enough to offer plenty of give and take in a fight that never failed to entertain at any point of the evening.

As the bout approached the championship rounds, there grew the sense that something was needed other than Kameda fighting on the road and turning away a brave challenger. Son stepped up his game and provided perhaps the greatest "Oh s(p)it" moment of the year.

An exchange along the ropes saw Kameda briefly under siege midway through the 10th. Son was out of position to come through with the straight right hand he planned to throw, but with a quick adjustment managed a sweeping left hook that sent Kameda to the canvas.

A subtle stream of blood flowed from above Kameda's left eyelid while wearing a sheepish grin as the referee offered the mandatory eight count. The defending titlist made it out of the round, as his corner quickly went to work to prepare their soldier for the two most critical rounds of his career to date.

The sequence clearly awoke Kameda, who came out aggressive in 11th round though still unable to disrupt the rhythm of a determined underdog. Much of the same was offered in the 12th and final round, which saw both fighters leave it all in the ring, to the delight of the crowd.

Anxious moments awaited both fighters as the scorecards were tallied. Son was all smiles in his corner, fully knowledgeable that - regardless of the outcome - his stock has immediately soared.

Meamwhile, Kameda did his best to mask any concerns about whether or not he would leave the ring as champion.

The judges were perhaps befuddled by what took place over the course of the contest. The official verdict was delayed long enough to where the broadcast (televised on TBS Japan) bizarrely ended and cut to a local news feed.

By the time the network cut back to the action in the ring, Kameda was seen celebrating his eighth title defense. Scores were never announced on air, but the visiting champ managed a split decision to improve his record to 32-1 (18KO). The bout marked his first title fight on foreign soil, and just third overall fight outside of his native Japan.

Son did his nation proud with a valiant effort, but comes up short in the end in his first bid at a major title. The loss ends a seven-year, 14-fight unbeaten streak as he falls to 20-5-2 (6KO).

If Kameda is to remain a titlist without the assistance of the judges, his next bout will have to come against long-reigning champ Anselmo Moreno.  

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as the Records Keeper for the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and a member of Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox