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By Jake Donovan - In a vacuum, it was just another tune-up fight when Koki Kameda took on Mexican journeyman Humberto Pool on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.
The fight was every bit the mismatch as was suggested to be on paper, with Kameda scoring four knockdowns en route to a fifth round stoppage. Nobody pretended anything different would come of the event.
That would be the simple view of the fight. But as we’ve come to learn even well he turned pro, there’s nothing simple about Koki Kameda or his fighting family.
Beyond the fight itself, the 21st straight win in as many pro fights for Koki was meant as a prelude to his biggest fight to date when he challenges lineal flyweight king Daisuke Naito.
Many in the media are calling the fight by far the biggest of the year in Japan, though it has everything to do with the challenger’s popularity. He has yet to enjoy anything beyond cult status outside of the Land of the Rising Sun, but at home the Koki Kameda – the eldest brother of his fighting family - currently rates as the biggest thing to hit Japan since Godzilla.
He proved it when winning his first major title just 12 fights and less than three years into his pro career. The win, a controversial 12-round decision over Juan Jose Landaeta, came in front of an estimated viewing audience of more than 50 million fans. Many disagreed with the verdict, but Kameda righted that wrong with a far more convincing performance in their rematch four months later, one which drew another 30 million viewers. [details]
The fight was every bit the mismatch as was suggested to be on paper, with Kameda scoring four knockdowns en route to a fifth round stoppage. Nobody pretended anything different would come of the event.
That would be the simple view of the fight. But as we’ve come to learn even well he turned pro, there’s nothing simple about Koki Kameda or his fighting family.
Beyond the fight itself, the 21st straight win in as many pro fights for Koki was meant as a prelude to his biggest fight to date when he challenges lineal flyweight king Daisuke Naito.
Many in the media are calling the fight by far the biggest of the year in Japan, though it has everything to do with the challenger’s popularity. He has yet to enjoy anything beyond cult status outside of the Land of the Rising Sun, but at home the Koki Kameda – the eldest brother of his fighting family - currently rates as the biggest thing to hit Japan since Godzilla.
He proved it when winning his first major title just 12 fights and less than three years into his pro career. The win, a controversial 12-round decision over Juan Jose Landaeta, came in front of an estimated viewing audience of more than 50 million fans. Many disagreed with the verdict, but Kameda righted that wrong with a far more convincing performance in their rematch four months later, one which drew another 30 million viewers. [details]
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