UIC Pavilion, Chicago - Tomoki Kameda defended his WBO Bantamweight World Championship and kept his undefeated record intact with a split-decision victory over Alejandro Hernandez, scored 115-113 Hernandez and 115-113 Kameda twice, in a fight that was seemingly wider than the judges’ scores indicated.
Kameda (31-0, 19 KOs) outworked Hernandez from the opening bell, contesting the fight in close quarters and pocketing rounds in the first half of the fight. His strength and speed was the difference, with Hernandez unable to land any meaningful punches against the champ. The rugged veteran was surviving, but Kameda held a massive advantage in power shots landed at the midway point of the championship bout.
Kameda was cut sometime after the seventh round, the first cut of his career, and altered his fighting style in the eighth, reverting to a more cautious approach. Hernandez (28-11-2, 15 KOs) seemed to win a few of the latter rounds, but not enough to justify the 115-113 scorecard in the split-decision.
Hernandez thought he deserved the decision and appealed for a rematch after the fight.
“I feel I was the winner,” Hernandez said. “I want the rematch. I feel the decision was not accurate. My fans are probably thinking the same. This loss doesn’t bring me down, it motivates me to train harder and get back out there.
“I thought this was going to be a tougher fight. He was not the kind of fighter I thought he was going to be. I could feel his lack of confidence. He was nervous and I took advantage of that. He threw some power punches, but he didn’t hurt me. Look at me -I’m not hurt. Look at him. Look at his face. Look at his eye. He was in trouble.”
