By Ian S Palmer
Tomoki Kameda vs Alejandro Hernandez Preview Nov 1
Unbeaten WBO Bantamweight king Tomoki Kameda of Japan will be defending his title in Chicago this Saturday, November 1st when he takes on veteran Alejandro Hernandez of Mexico. The 12-round but can be seen live on the Showtime network in the USA, while Canadian fans can catch it on Super Channel. Both of these guys turned pro at young ages as Kameda was 17 and Hernandez just 16. The fight will be taking place at the UIC Pavilion.
Kameda’s 23-years-old now and he’ll be entering the ring with a perfect record of 30-0 with 19 Kos. The 28-year-old Hernandez is 28-10-2 and has 15 Kos to his name. Size-wise, there’s not much to choose from since Kamada’s 5-feet-7-inches tall and Hernandez is just an inch shorter and they each have a 66-inch reach. When it comes to pro experience, Hernandez, a former flyweight, has the edge as he’s gone 292 rounds compared to 188 for the champion.
Kameda comes from a fine boxing family as he also has two brothers in the sport. His older brother Daiki used to be the IBF Super Flyweight Champion and his other brother Koki is the current WBA Bantamweight titleholder. His last bout came back in July when he stopped former belt holder Pungluang Sor Singyu in the seventh round. Hernandez has lost his fair share of fights, but he comes into this match with three straight wins under his belt.
He’s fighting for Kameda’s belt since he’s the WBO’s mandatory challenger. He also won the vacant interim title in June when he beat Daniel Rosas by a 12-round unanimous decision in June. He’s faced the likes of world champions Leo Santa Cruz and Omar Narvaez and has also been in the ring with Marvin Mabait. While he’s been beaten 10 times, he’s been stopped just once, which was by Santa Cruz in the fourth round two years ago.
Kameda is a good outside fighter with quick hands and good footwork. He also possesses a fine jab and likes to land combinations to both the head and body. He’s got a killer instinct when his opponents are hurt and has pretty good power in his fists. Hernandez also has decent power and throws his fair share of punches each round. He’s tough and has good timing, but he’s struggled throughout his career with so many losses.
Hernandez needs to make sure he doesn’t lunge at the champion and leave himself open for one of Kameda’s patented uppercuts. He also needs to throw his punches in flurries rather than just throwing one or two at a time and has to take the initiative since he’s not too comfortable and fighting will backing up.
Prediction
Hernandez needs to just go out and take it to Kameda by using his jab and going to the body. He needs to try to cut the ring off, throw multiple punches and get out of the way of any incoming fire. This isn’t going to be easy to do though since Kameda’s younger, quicker and has the better skills. Kameda is expected to win this fight against a mandatory challenger who has 10 defeats on his record. And he will win the bout, and it should be by a late stoppage or comfortable decision.
