By Jake Donovan
Four months ago, Jamie McDonnell was forced to overcome a knockdown and an early deficit in his first career stateside fight to defeat unbeaten Tomoki Kameda.
This time around, it was the rangy Brit who floored Kameda. A right hand dropped the former bantamweight champ midway through the 12th and final round, a sequence that ultimately sealed his second win Sunday afternoon in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Most observers had both fights fairly close, though with scores ranging far wider in the rematch, as several rounds were tough to score. The broadcast team for the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on CBS telecast had Kameda winning the fight, with assigned PBC Historian and unofficial scorer Corey Erdman seeing Kameda win eight out of 12 rounds.
The only three cards that count, however, are those turned in by the official ringside judges. All three had McDonnell winning even without the final round knockdown, turning in cards of 115-112, 116-111 and 117-110.
Naturally, McDonnell agreed with the final verdict.
"The fight went to plan. The plan was to box him and catch him with big shots," McDonnell (27-2-1, 12KOs) insisted after the fight. "To be fair I thought this was easier than the first fight."
McDonnell made the third successful defense of his secondary bantamweight title. Overall, the 5'10" bantamweight from England has won 19 straight fights.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Facebook Page: JakeBScene
