Japanese Star Koki Kameda Makes First Flyweight Championship Defense Against Longtime Kingpin Pongsaklek Wonjongkam
WBC Flyweight Champion Koki Kameda will make his first defense against longtime Thai standout Pongsaklek Wonjongkam on March 27 in Tokyo at the Airake Coliseum. This is considered a very difficult fight for the young Kameda, 23. Pongsaklek was the best flyweight of the past decade. At 32, we will see if he still has a claim on this decade’s events.
Koki Kameda vs. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam Preview
Both men have history with former WBC Champion Daisuke Naito. Kameda just beat him for the title. Naito is also the man who beat Pongsaklek for his belt. In fact, Naito is the only man to have beaten Pongsaklek since 1996, a span covering 70 fights! It was strange for Naito to have even received the opportunity to face Pongsaklek again. The Thai champion had beaten him twice previously in convincing fashion, highlighted by a 34-second knockout-a flyweight record. Naito nevertheless received a third fight and made good, winning a close nod over the champion who was making his 18th defense.
Having fought at the world-class level for a decade, does Pongsaklek still have it? I think yes and no. While he is not the force of old, I think too much is read into the Naito fights. The assumption seems to be that he now struggles with a fighter he at one time dominated, having also fought a draw with Naito since losing the belt to him. I think Naito, however, was a much-improved fighter by the time he fought Pongsaklek for the third time. I also feel that the version of Naito that Pongsaklek fought was better than the version that Kameda beat in November, as Naito had started to show signs of wear over the past year.
Kameda came up as a flamboyant bad boy. The opinion of his countrymen was that he was very talented, but also arrogant. The whole Kameda family, with three fighting brothers and a father trainer, has a lot of heat surrounding them in Japan. At first, Koki seemed to be more hype than anything, especially when he struggled with Juan Landaeta for the WBA 108 lb. crown while still a teenager. He seemed talented, but a little like a rickety young colt. He has since filled out a bit and seems to have a more man-like solidness to him now.
He really looked to have rounded into shape in the Naito fight. His boxing had more substance to it than before. He may not ever set the world on fire, but he is a strong boxer who fights with a great deal of confidence and energy. At 23, he is in his fighting prime. There’s a very good chance he will never scale the heights of his opponent, but he’s probably better than Pongsaklek in this decade.
Fight Prediction
Pongsaklek can still fight and I think he will bring it to the young Japanese champion. Kameda will employ his earmuff defense to ride through the storm before lashing back with sharp counters of his own. The site of this fight could help Kameda with the scoring, which could be critical since this figures to go the full route. In a pick made with a limited amount of conviction, I think Kameda is the fresher fighter and should win a decision to the tune of 8 rounds to 4.
Kameda by UD over Pongsaklek
