By Jake Donovan
Their first fight proved there's little to separate between Jamie McDonnell and Tomoki Kameda. The weigh-in heading into their sequel provided the latest similiarity between the two.
Both fighters weighed in at 117.8 lbs. for their bantamweight title fight rematch Sunday afternoon at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. As was the case in the first fight, part two will also air live on CBS in the latest installment of Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series.
McDonnell survived a third-round knockdown to rally back hard in the second half and claim a narrow decision win in their CBS-televised clash in May. The loss was the first of Kameda's career, although most observers had the former bantamweight champ buidling up a big enough lead in the early going to prevail in the end.
Despite the positive reviews in the court of public opinion, Kameda watched his "0" go, coming on the heels of his being stripped of his version of the bantamweight title.
Four months later, they meet again in the same state and on the same free-to-air network, each ready to improve on their respective performances in the May thriller.
BOXINGSCENE.COM STAFF PREDICTIONS: JAMIE McDONNELL vs. TOMOKI KAMEDA
Ryan Burton (Kameda UD): Their first fight was close with McDonnell making the key adjustments in the 2nd half of the fight. I believe the 2nd fight will also be competitive but Kameda, with Ismael Salas in his corner, will win a 116-112, 115-113 type fight.
Jake Donovan (Kameda Dec.): I thought Kameda deserved the nod the first time around. That said, he left a lot to chance by easing up in the second half and it cost him the fight. Assuming the chip on his shoulder this time is due to a lesson learned, I like the youngest and perhaps most talented of the Kameda fighting family to win by a desicive margin this time around.
Peter Lim (Kameda UD): The same back-and-forth action from the first fight will repeat itself in the rematch but this time the scores are reversed with Kameda winning a razor-close decision.
Cliff Rold (Kameda Dec.): Kameda looked like he did enough to win the first time to these eyes and think lady luck will be on his side in another close one.
Victor Salazar (Kameda Dec.): I had Kameda winning the first bout even though the scorecards suggested otherwise. The first fight was a fight of the year contender. McDonnell says he wants to concentrate more on defense in this bout which may be his downfall. An aggressive McDonnell is what made the fight great and made it close. I see Kameda winning this fight and forcing McDonnell to fight again setting up a trilogy perhaps.
Alexey Sukachev (McDonnell UD): The second time it'll be easier for the Brit. Kameda is usually powerful but lack boxing ability to outbox McDonnell.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Facebook Page: JakeBScene
