By Cliff Rold
Let’s call it epilogue 2010.
Last weekend felt like the end of the boxing year but was not. There were still a few fights remaining. This Sunday, for an absurdly vacant WBA Bantamweight belt (more on that soon), is by far the best of them. Two former champions, one aging with no room for error, the other arguably the sport’s biggest draw below Featherweight, will attempt to make a genuine place for themselves in boxing’s best division.
Could this one turn into exhibit A for why no one should turn in a “Fight of the Year” ballot until all the results are in?
Probably not but let’s go to the report card anyways.
The Ledgers
Koki Kameda
Age: 24
Titles: None
Previous Titles: WBA Jr. Flyweight (2006-07, 1 Defense)
Height: 5’5 ½
Weight: TBA
Average Weight – Last Five Fights: 113.12 lbs.
Hails from: Tokyo, Japan
Record: 23-1, 15 KO
Record in Major Title Fights: 3-1
BoxingScene Rank: #1 at Flyweight
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Defeated: 3 (Saman Sorjaturong, Noel Arambulet, Daisuke Naito)
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced in Defeat: 1 (Pongsaklek Wonjongkam)
Vs.
Alexander Munoz
Age: 31
Current Title: None
Previous Titles: WBA Jr. Bantamweight (2002-04, 3 Defenses; 07-08, 2 Defenses)
Height: 5’5 ½
Weight: TBA
Average Weight - Five Most Recent Fights: 118.25 lbs.
Hails from: San Felix, Venezuela
Record: 35-3, 27 KO
Record in Major Title Fights: 7-3, 3 KO
BoxingScene Rank: Unrated
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Defeated: 4 (Celes Kobayashi, Nobuo Nashiro, Katsushige Kawashima, Felix Machado)
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced in Defeat: 2 (Martin Castillo, Cristian Mijares)
Grades
Pre-Fight: Speed – Kameda B+; Munoz B-
Pre-Fight: Power – Kameda B; Munoz A
Pre-Fight: Defense – Kameda B+; Munoz B
Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Kameda B; Munoz A
To start, no, the exceptionally talented Anselmo Moreno has not lost the WBA Bantamweight belt. Moreno has not lost, period, since a 2002 split decision four rounder. So why is this bout for a WBA belt at 118 lbs.?
Moreno has been named a ‘Super Champion,’ despite never having unified his WBA belt with that of another sanctioning body or anything. Kameda-Munoz will kick in some quality holiday sanctioning fe…er, cheers.
Voila.
With what seems like less attention paid to them by American media over the last few years, the machinations of the sanctioning bodies have become even more absurd than they were historically.
How ridiculous is a title fight between these two fighters at Bantamweight?
Consider that, since losing the lineal World Flyweight title to Pongsaklek Wonjongkam earlier this year, Kameda has fought once against 24-14-3 journeyman Cecilio Santos. Since losing to Mijares in a 2008 115 lb. unification fight, Munoz has a year of inactivity and three fights against opponents whose combine record was 44-29-4. One of them might have once held a title (Machado) but he had also lost five in a row before Munoz.
This is almost, almost, as bad as the utter garbage that was the WBC sanctioning Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito for a vacant Jr. Middleweight belt. At least, in the case of Kameda-Munoz, there’s no insipid catchweight and both fighters have a win in the division.
Other than all that, this is a pretty strong match.
If Kameda and Munoz, or their teams, want to cough up some coin for a little extra jewelry, if it leads either to a fight with Moreno, than the inside ring product isn’t suffering. A lot here will depend on how much Munoz has in the tank. He’s returning to Japan and the land of the rising sun has been good to Munoz.
Of Munoz’s ten title fights, all seven of the wins have come in Japan. Whether victory has come inside the route or on the cards, no matter. Munoz leaves with his hand raised. That includes a lopsided decision win over Nobuo Nashiro in 2007 and a Fight of the Year quality points nod over Kawashima in 2008.
Those are all positives heading into a fight with Kameda. Kameda, who while a huge draw is also a lightning rod in Japanese media, lost close but clean to Wonjongkam earlier this year. Munoz can feel safe enough that he will get a fair nod if he earns it.
“If” is the key word.
Munoz’s two decisive losses, in the first fight against Castillo and Mijares, had a common denominator. In both contests, Munoz faced a deficit of speed. Kameda will have that edge on Sunday. Will he use it by moving his hands?
Kameda, who has solid reflexes, footwork, and tight defense, is a flawed offensive fighter. His punching is accurate; there just isn’t enough of it. Kameda is the sort of fighter who is either on offense or defense, without much integration. Munoz, who will throw in numbers, and who has a sneaky right hand, could threaten to overwhelm Kameda as the fight wears on.
He’ll have to catch Kameda early and slow him down though. That’s a tougher proposition. If he does, this fight could become like Munoz’s second fight with Castillo, a fight where Munoz found ways to put pain on his man and keep it coming even in a narrow (debated defeat). Kameda is not the sort of complete package Castillo was then.
Munoz is almost five years older so it remains to be seen whether he has that effort in him still. For now, both men have shown solid beards but we still know more about Munoz under sustained fire than Kameda so he gets the slight edge there.
The Pick
No matter his edges in power and experience, Munoz’s speed deficit and Kameda’s willingness to box are a bad combination for the older man. Kameda is going to make Munoz chase him and will have chances to counter. His lack of output could make it closer than it needs to be but Munoz is not Wonjongkam. He doesn’t have the sort of polished technique and timing the Thai had earlier this year, leaving Munoz likely with a puncher’s chance. Those chances sometimes work out, but not usually. It won’t be a “Fight of the Year,” but Kameda should win by decision as he takes a real step into boxing’s current premiere minefield.
Report Card Picks 2010: 39-17
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
