By Cliff Rold

After the first fight, Tomoki Kameda said he felt like he won every round.

He didn’t.

That the Japanese battler may have deserved the decision is worthy of debate. With an early knockdown, and plenty of competitive action down the stretch, he made his case.

So did McDonnell. The gutsy effort he showed in coming off the floor, and willing his way towards the narrow win was commendable stuff.

So they do it again. It’s going to open the PBC show on Sunday but for the serious fight fan, this is the weekend main event.

Let’s go the report card.

The Ledgers

Jamie McDonnell
Age: 29
Title: WBA ‘Not Super’ Bantamweight (2015-Present, 3 Defenses)
Previous Titles: IBF Bantamweight (2013)
Height: 5’10
Weight: 117.8 lbs.
Hails from: Doncaster, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Record: 26-2-1, 12 KO
Rankings: #3 (BoxRec), #4 (BoxingScene, TBRB, ESPN), #5 (Ring) 

Record in Major Title Fights: 4-0, 2 KO
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: 3 (Lee Haskins L8; Julio Ceja MD12; Tomoki Kameda UD12)

Vs.

Tomoki Kameda

 Age: 24
Title: None
Previous Titles: WBO Bantamweight (2013-15, 3 Defenses)
Height: 5’7
Weight: 117.8 lbs.

Hails from: Tokyo, Japan
Record: 31-1, 19 KO
Rankings: #4 (BoxRec, Ring), #5 (BoxingScene, TBRB, ESPN)
Record in Major Title Fights: 4-1, 1 KO
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: 3 (Paulus Ambunda UD12; Pungluang Sor Singyu KO7; Jamie McDonnell L12)

Grades

Pre-Fight: Speed – McDonnell B+; Kameda B+
Pre-Fight: Power – McDonnell B-; Kameda B
Pre-Fight: Defense – McDonnell B; Kameda B
Pre-Fight: Intangibles – McDonnell B+; Kameda B+

While Kameda may be slightly quicker on the draw, McDonnell makes up for it by making pretty good use of his length. For a bantam, McDonnell is quite tall. He doesn’t make that count for what he could. Early in the first fight, he tried to establish his jab and it worked in spots. As the fight wore on, McDonnell was comfortable at close range. To his credit, he goes to the body well but he can get lazy at mid-range.

That means letting Kameda inside and Kameda proved the danger in round three of their first fight. Stepping in hard, he dropped McDonnell with a hard right. Kameda couldn’t produce the same result again and may have paid a price for staying inside too long in the first fight. Kameda’s best work seemed to be in bursts, in an out.

He’ll need to try to keep McDonnell off balance more often this time around. It won’t be easy. McDonnell is tough and persistent. He’s seen his share of real opponents and hasn’t lost since 2008. But for the politics of boxing, he could have two belts right now.

The WBO made a reasonable call not to recognize a showdown with the WBA’s secondary beltholder as a unification match but the end result was a man Kameda got out of there in seven last July now holding the WBO belt (Sor Singyu).

Boxing. 

Both men are solid fundamentally in their defense but neither is super hard to find. It’s one of the things that made them fun to watch the first time and should again. The question isn’t whether this should be a good fight but whether it can meet, or exceed, the first.  

The Pick

The younger Kameda learned a lesson in the first fight. He learned that every round counts and a lead isn’t safe. Appearing sometimes the most talented of a fighting family (older brothers Koki and Daiki are both former titlists), it says here he takes that lesson to heart. In another close fight, Kameda keeps his work rate up down the stretch after another strong start, eking out a decision that has its share of debate just like the first time around. It might take three to settle this one.    

Report Card and Staff Picks 2015: 65-15

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com