CARSON, Calif. -- Rey Vargas might not be a household name but in his nearly decade long career he is yet to lose a fight. On July 13 Vargas will be putting his WBC junior featherweight title and undefeated record on the line against Tomoki Kameda. The fight will stream live on DAZN and it will be the fifth title defense for Vargas.
Vargas (33-0, 22 KOs) is a lanky fighter with good power, especially for his division. He likes to work from the outside behind a nice jab and he's able to find success there because of his long reach. Behind that jab Vargas has a good left hook he likes to bang to the body and a mean right hand. When he gets in the pocket Vargas does a nice job of attacking the body and he is skilled at splitting the guard with his uppercuts. Vargas also tends to get wild and pretty wide with his punches which leaves him open for counter shots.
Vargas has some solid wins on his resume but these days fans crave unification fights. It would be wonderful to see Vargas in the ring with Daniel Roman or Emanuel Navarrete but Kameda is a pretty good consolation prize. During a career that has spanned nine years Vargas has beaten fighters like Oscar Negrete, Ronny Rios, and Gavin McDonnell. He won his first world title in 2017 against McDonnell and has since defended it four times. Hopefully a fifth successful defense could set up a unification fight against Roman. That fight shouldn't be too difficult to make considering both fight on DAZN and if you put it in Southern California fans would pack the house.
While Vargas will enjoy a reach advantage in this fight he won't enjoy his usual height advantage. That's because Kameda (36-2, 20 KOs) is the same height as him. The 27-year-old has good power and he likes to trade heavy leather. Kameda actually has a pretty quick jab when he actually throws it but he doesn't use that punch enough, instead relying on head movement and a strong chin to walk his way inside. When he gets inside he can do serious damage with both hands. The Japanese native has a strong left hook to the body along with a heavy right hand. He's also the type of fighter who doesn't mind standing right in front of his opponent and slugging it out which definitely makes him a fan friendly fighter.
The biggest fights on Kameda's career came in the same year in 2015 and against the same fighter, Jamie McDonnell. In their first fight Kameda dropped McDonnell in the early rounds but lost a close unanimous decision in a fight he probably should have won. In their rematch he lost more decisively but hasn't lost since. Those two losses were the only ones of Kameda's career and since his second loss he has gone 5-0 with one knockout and four unanimous decision victories. By winning his last fight he became the interim WBC junior featherweight champion but he will be looking to become the real champ by beating Vargas.
One thing fans can count on in this fight is plenty of body punching. When they get inside both Vargas and Kameda love to bang to the body and both take those punches pretty well. Look for Vargas to try and control the distance early with his jab and reach advantage while also picking spots to land his power punches. To win this fight Kameda will need to consistently slip the jab of Vargas and get inside where he can do damage with both hands. If Kameda can make this a phone booth fight he has a good chance of leaving with Vargas' title. However, if Vargas uses his feet enough and can keep Kameda at the end of his punches he should be just fine.
PREDICTION: This should be a close fight that can go either way and Tomoki Kameda hasn't had very much luck in those type of fights. Rey Vargas will look good in this fight but Kameda will be able to get inside consistently and will get the better of the exchanges on the inside on his way to a very close majority decision victory.
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| Vargas, splitting the guard with an uppercut |
Vargas has some solid wins on his resume but these days fans crave unification fights. It would be wonderful to see Vargas in the ring with Daniel Roman or Emanuel Navarrete but Kameda is a pretty good consolation prize. During a career that has spanned nine years Vargas has beaten fighters like Oscar Negrete, Ronny Rios, and Gavin McDonnell. He won his first world title in 2017 against McDonnell and has since defended it four times. Hopefully a fifth successful defense could set up a unification fight against Roman. That fight shouldn't be too difficult to make considering both fight on DAZN and if you put it in Southern California fans would pack the house.
While Vargas will enjoy a reach advantage in this fight he won't enjoy his usual height advantage. That's because Kameda (36-2, 20 KOs) is the same height as him. The 27-year-old has good power and he likes to trade heavy leather. Kameda actually has a pretty quick jab when he actually throws it but he doesn't use that punch enough, instead relying on head movement and a strong chin to walk his way inside. When he gets inside he can do serious damage with both hands. The Japanese native has a strong left hook to the body along with a heavy right hand. He's also the type of fighter who doesn't mind standing right in front of his opponent and slugging it out which definitely makes him a fan friendly fighter.
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| Kameda, celebrating a victory |
One thing fans can count on in this fight is plenty of body punching. When they get inside both Vargas and Kameda love to bang to the body and both take those punches pretty well. Look for Vargas to try and control the distance early with his jab and reach advantage while also picking spots to land his power punches. To win this fight Kameda will need to consistently slip the jab of Vargas and get inside where he can do damage with both hands. If Kameda can make this a phone booth fight he has a good chance of leaving with Vargas' title. However, if Vargas uses his feet enough and can keep Kameda at the end of his punches he should be just fine.
PREDICTION: This should be a close fight that can go either way and Tomoki Kameda hasn't had very much luck in those type of fights. Rey Vargas will look good in this fight but Kameda will be able to get inside consistently and will get the better of the exchanges on the inside on his way to a very close majority decision victory.
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