Unbeaten Vargas to defend crown against Kameda

LOS ANGELES, California: Undefeated super bantamweight champion Rey Vargas of Mexico defends his World Boxing Council crown on Saturday (today) in suburban Los Angeles against Japanese top-ranked challenger Tomoki Kameda.

The showdown at the home stadium of Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy will be the fifth time Vargas, 33-0 with 22 knockouts, defends the title he won by winning on a decision against Britain’s Gavin McDonnell in February 2017. Vargas, 28, last fought five months ago when he took a unanimous decision over Venezuela’s Franklin Manzanilla.

Kameda, who turns 28 on the eve of the fight, is 36-2 with 20 knockouts, his only losses coming in 2015 World Boxing Association bantamweight title bouts against Britain’s Jamie McDonnell. Since then, Kameda has won five times, most recently by unanimous decision over Spain’s Abigail Medina last November in Japan.