By Jake Donovan
Sources close to the situation have informed BoxingScene.com that terms have been reached for a junior bantamweight title fight between Kohei Kono and Koki Kameda. The bout is rumored to take place later this fall at a location to be determined in the United States.
Talks of such a clash have been in place for quite some time, but finding a location has been the biggest—and really, only—hang-up. Terms were initially reached for a July 24 showdown, but have been pushed back due to Kono suffering a rib injury during training, and thus forced to postpone his mandatory title defense.
Kono (30-8-1, 13KOs) will be making the second defense of his second tour as a 115 lb. titlist, and fighting for the first time outside of Japan. The 34-year old won his first title on New Year’s Eve 2012, but lost in his first defense to Liborio Solis.
The second reign came about after Solis was forced to vacate due to showing up well over the limit for his eventual split decision win over Daiki Kameda–Koki’s younger brother—in Dec. ’13. Kong regained his old title with an 8th round knockout of Denkaosan Kaovichit in their vacant title fight last March.
One defense has followed, a shocking 12-round draw versus Dominican journeyman Norberto Jimenez last New Year’s Eve.
Kameda (33-1, 18KO) became the first fighter in Japanese boxing history to win titles in three weight classes, claiming hardware at junior flyweight, flyweight (also a lineal championship reign) and bantamweight. The latter reign extended from Dec. ’10 to Nov. ’13, ending with a controversial split decision win over unheralded Jung-Oh Son on the road in South Korea.
Several of Kameda’s title fights at bantamweight resulted in debatable decisions, though he managed to rack up eight defenses before vacating early last year. The move came in conjunction with his plans to move down in weight, looking to become Japan’s first-ever four-division titlist.
His progress was slowed, however, by his family being banned from boxing at home after the Japanese Boxing Commission revoked their gym license due to a variety of events through the years. The elder Kameda returned last November, making his U.S. debut with a 4th round knockout of Omar Salado on the undercard of younger brother Tomoki Kameda in a 12-round win over Alejandro Hernandez in Chicago.
Kok and Tomoki Kameda are both advised by Al Haymon and fight under the Premier Boxing Champions banner. Tomoki suffered his first loss last month, a heartbreaking decision to Jamie McDonnell in a CBS-televised headliner from Hidalgo, Texas.
Among the locations in the running for a Kono-Kameda clash include Texas, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Despite such a fight doing big business in Japan, their native country is not a hosting option until Kameda is once again licensed to fight at home.
The Kameda family filed a lawsuit last December to have the indefinite suspension lifted, but the matter has yet to reach a resolution.
TV has not yet been announced, although it’s all but guaranteed to air live, given the number of networks currently running PBC events.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox