Jamie McDonnell Earns Repeat Win Over Tomoki Kameda

By Jake Donovan

Scores were 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112 in favor of McDonnell, who scored the bout's lone knockdown midway through the 12th and final round. The decision wasn't well received by the crowd, whose reaction seemed to agree with the CBS broadcast view that Kameda deserved the nod. 

Their first meet in May was a tale of two fights, with Kameda jumping off to a strong start—and a 3rd round knockdown—before McDonnell came on over the second half of the contest. 

There was far more back-and-forth action in the sequel, though once again with Kameda first to the punch in the early going. Several rounds were razor-thin close, with Kameda offering superior movement and McDonnell the busier fighter especially in close quarters. 

Both fighters promised to leave nothing to chance in the rematch, but very much left their respective fates in the hands of the judges. Kameda—armed with a new team in his corner—didn't seem to improve any on the stamina issues that plagued his performance earlier this year. While the former bantamweight champion didn't fade late, his punches also weren't landing with conviction.

This actually allowed McDonnell to hang around, putting in tremendous work down the stretch. He actually had the fight won heading into the 12th and final round, putting an exclamation point on his performance by flooring Kameda with 90 seconds to go in the bout. A right hand landed flush just as Kameda was attempting to slide back and reposition his stance. The referee correctly ruled it a knockdown, although it proved inconsequential on the final cards. 

McDonnell moves to 27-2-1 (12KOs) with the repeat win, and may consider moving to Texas. The pair of victories over Kameda (31-2, 19KOs) both came in the Lone Star state, serving as the lone two U.S. appearances for the rangy Brit. 

With the nod also comes the third defense of his second tour as a bantamweight titlist. His first reign began and ended with a hard-fought 12-round win over Julio Ceja, who has since picked up a super bantamweight title with his off-the-canvas knockout win over Hugo Ruiz just one week ago.

Ceja was ringside for McDonnell's most recent win, with the intention of seeking a rematch of his own if he can convince the 5'10" Brit to move up four pounds in weight. 

For Kameda, it's back to the proverbial drawing board. Despite his firmly believing he won both times versus McDonnell, the record books state differently for the former bantamweight champion. 

The bout aired live on CBS, as part of the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series. 

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.

Twitter: @JakeNDaBox

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