By Mike Smith: Rey Vargas (33-0, 22 KOs) and former WBO super bantamweight champion have agreed to terms for a fight. The two were heading towards a purse bid, but it was averted when their management were able to agree to the terms of the fight.
Vargas, 28, will be defending his WBC super bantamweight title against interim World Boxing Council 122 lb champion Kameda (26-2, 22 KOs) at a still to be determined venue and date.
The management for the two fighters, Golden Boy Promotions, Promociones del Pueblo and TGB Promotions were able to put a deal together.
This should be a good fight. Vargas throws a lot of punches, and has respectable power. It’s unclear how Vargas would stack up against the other top super bantamweights in the division like Daniel Roman, TJ Doheny, Isaac Dogboe, Emanuel Navarrete, Jessie Magdaleno and Guilermo Rigondeaux. Those would be tough fights for Vargas, but winnable ones if he’s able to use his boxing skills.
This is a hard fight for Vargas to take after his grueling 12 round unanimous decision victory over knockout artist Franklin Manzanilla (18-5, 17 KOs) on February 9 at the Fantasy Springs Casino, in Indio, California. Vargas was knocked down hard from a left hook by Manzanilla in the second round. The shot put Vargas flat on his back. However, Vargas was able to use his height and reach to outbox the hard hitting Colombian Manzanilla the rest of the way, but it was far from an easy fight.
Vargas captured the WBC super bantamweight title on February 25, 2017 in beating Gavin McDonnell by a 12 round majority decision. Since then, Vargas has successfully defended his strap four times in beating Manzanilla, Azat Hovhannisyan, Oscar Negrete and Ronny Rios, all by 12 round decisions.
For his part, Kameda, 27, captured the interim WBC super bantamweight title last November in beating Abigail Medina by a 12 round unanimous decision in Tokyo, Japan. The scores were 117-111, 116-112 and 116-112.
Known for his slugging style, Tomoki, who comes from Japan, captured the World Boxing Organization super bantamweight title in August 2013 in beating Paulus Ambunda by a 12 round unanimous decision. Kameda successfully defended the title three times before losing to Gavin McDonnell by a 12 round unanimous decision in May 2015. In the rematch four months later in September 2015, Kameda lost for a second time in getting beat by a 12 round unanimous decision. Kameda has put some wins together recently in beating Ivan Morales, Abigail Medina, Daniel Noriega, Pipat Chaiporn and Edgar Alfredo Martinez. None of them are in the same class as Rey Vargas though. It’s going to be a big step up for Kameda to take on a talented fighter like Vargas after those fights.