By Francisco Salazar
Rey Vargas will defend his WBC junior featherweight title against mandatory challenger Tomoki Kameda on July 13, Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Robert Diaz told BoxingScene.com.
The 12-round bout will take place at Dignity Health Sport Park (formerly known as the StubHub Center) in Carson, California. DAZN will likely stream the fight live.
“It’s a heck of a fight,” Diaz told Boxingscene. “‘El Mexicanito’ (Kameda) versus ‘El Mexicano’ (Vargas).”
Vargas (33-0, 22 knockouts), who resides in the Mexico City area, overcame a knockdown at the hands of Venezuela’s Franklin Manzanilla to win by unanimous decision on Feb. 9 in Indio, California. The victory over Manzanilla was Vargas’ fourth successful defense of his WBC title.
The 28-year-old Vargas is co-promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Promotions Del Pueblo, who has promoted Vargas since 2012..
Kameda (36-2, 20 KOs), who splits his time between his birthplace of Tokyo and Mexico City, became the mandatory challenger by defeating Abigail Medina on Nov. 12.
The 27-year-old Kameda has won his last five bouts since losing back-to-back close decisions to then-WBA bantamweight titleholder Jamie McDonnell of England in 2015.
Kameda also held the WBO bantamweight title before his fights against McDonnell.
There are a handful of fighters that are promoted by Golden Boy that could appear on the July 13 card in Carson, but nothing officially has been announced, including unbeaten lightweight Ryan Garcia and featherweight contender Joet Gonzalez.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing