Kōki Kameda Climbed Three Divisions
Kōki Kameda became a three-division world champion on December 26, 2010, defeating Alexander Muñoz for the vacant WBA bantamweight title. The Japanese southpaw had previously held championships at light flyweight and flyweight.
Career highlights
Kameda’s first world championship came in August 2006 against Juan Landaeta for the WBA light flyweight belt. He later moved to flyweight, defeating Daisuke Naito by unanimous decision on November 29, 2009, to capture the WBC championship.
Pongsaklek Wonjongkam ended that reign by majority decision in March 2010. Kameda’s subsequent bantamweight victory against Muñoz opened a longer WBA run, with defenses against opponents including Daniel Díaz, David de la Mora and Hugo Ruiz.
The fourth-division challenge
On October 16, 2015, Kameda challenged Kohei Kono for the WBA super flyweight championship in Chicago. Kono scored a second-round knockdown and retained the title by unanimous decision after twelve rounds. Kameda’s attempt to add a fourth weight division ended with the belt remaining with his fellow Japanese boxer.
Kameda came from a prominent boxing family: his younger brothers Daiki and Tomoki also competed professionally, and his father was Shiro Kameda. His own world championship record contained twelve wins and two defeats. Beyond the title-winning opponents, his victories included former champions Saman Sorjaturong and Noel Arambulet, adding experience against accomplished international opposition.
Sources
- BoxRec: Kameda’s championships in three weight divisions
- BoxRec: Kameda’s WBC flyweight title results
- World Boxing Association: Kameda’s championship schedule
- Premier Boxing Champions: Kono–Kameda official result and fight highlights
