Tomoki Kameda vs Kevin Villanueva Preview March 31st, 2024
Former WBO Bantamweight Champion Tomoki Kameda of Japan takes on Kevin Villanueva of Mexico in a 10-round featherweight tilt this Sunday, March 31st. The fight from Nagoya, Japan can be seen live in most nations on DAZN with the card set to begin at 3am ET. Kameda last fought in October when he lost a 12-round split decision to Lerato Dlamini of South Africa in Tokyo. Villanueva was last in action in February when he beat Emmanuel Cota via a 10-round split decision for the WBC Youth Silver Super Bantamweight Title. Kameda is also a former WBC Interim Super Bantamweight Champion.
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Kameda vs Villanueva Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Kevin Villanueva +600
- Tomoki Kameda -800
My Pick
The 32-year-old Kameda hails from Osaka and will climb through the ring ropes with a mark of 40-4 along with 22 Ko’s and has boxed 320 rounds since making his pro debut in 2008. Kameda can box and also has decent good power on his punches as 55 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. He’s halted two of his last three two opponents but went the distance in his seven previous fights. Kameda seems to have returned to his aggressive style of a few years ago which saw him go after his opponent when he had him hurt.
His first two losses came against Jamie McDonnell when McDonnell was the WBA Bantamweight king. Kameda had him down in the third round of their first meeting in 2015, but dropped a close unanimous decision by scores of 114-113 across the board. McDonnell then beat him in their rematch by unanimous decision four months later. His third defeat came at the hands of Rey Vargas in 2019 in a shot at the WBC Super Bantamweight Title. Kameda stands just over 5-feet-7-inches tall and has a 67-inch reach.
Kameda won the WBO Bantamweight title in 2013 with a unanimous decision over Paulus Ambunda. He then defended it against Immanuel Naidjala by unanimous decision, against Panya Uthok by seventh-round KO and Alejandro Hernandez by split decision before vacating the championship. Since turning pro he’s also won the WBC Silver, NABF, WBC Youth World, WBC CABOFE, and WBC FECARBOX Bantamweight Titles and also has wins over Ivan Morales, Daniel Noriega, Yonfrez Parejo and William Encarnacion. Tomoki is the younger brother of fellow boxers Koki and Daiki Kameda.
As for the 23-year-old Villanueva, he makes the ring walk with a mark of 22-4-3 with 15 Ko’s and has 131 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro as a teenager in 2017. There’s no height and reach information for him so we don’t know exactly how he measures up against Kameda size-wise. We do know he carries quite a bit of power in his punches though as 68.2 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage, but he’s been taken the distance in three of his past five victories.
Two of his first three pro fights ended in four-round draws as he drew Luiz Moreno and Jesus Valenzuela in 2017. He then lost his fifth pro fight as he dropped a four round unanimous decision to Leobardo Alvarez the same year. Villanueva also fought to a six-round draw with Angel Guevara in 2018; was stopped in the fifth round by Joselito Velazquez in 2019; was halted in the 10th and final round by Victor Sandoval in 2020 in a shot at the vacant WBC International Silver Super Flyweight Title and was stopped by Alan Romero in the sixth round last March.
Prediction…
Both Kameda and Villanueva can exciting boxers when they let their hands. Villanueva is eight years younger than Kameda and while he does well against domestic opposition in Mexico, he struggles somewhat when he steps up in class and has been stopped three times. Kameda has a more experience against stiffer opposition and will be fighting at home while Villaneuva will be boxing outside of his homeland for the first time. Kameda should have a decided edge here as long as he’s aggressive and should do enough to win a a hard-fought battle.
Kameda’s chin and experience should pull him through.
Play: Kameda -800 @ BetOnline.ag
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Kevin Villanueva betting • Tomoki Kameda betting