On February 22 (February 23 Japan time), the main event of a Sanfer Promotions card was held in Tijuana, Mexico—a 10-round bout at a 124-pound catchweight. Former two-division world champion Luis Nery (Mexico, 35–2, 27 KOs), currently ranked No. 3 in the WBA and WBC and No. 6 in the WBO super bantamweight rankings, faced off against Kyosuke Kameda (TMK), who is ranked No. 15 by the WBA, WBC, and WBO at featherweight and entered the ring with a record of 15–3–2 (9 KOs). Nery secured a TKO victory in the 7th round.
At the weigh-in the day before, Kameda made the 124-pound limit on his first try, while Nery came in 900 grams over and needed a second attempt to make weight. In the opening round, southpaw Nery applied pressure with left and right hooks, but Kameda landed a sharp counter right short punch, sending Nery to the canvas. It looked like a knockdown, but the referee ruled it a slip.
In round two, Nery charged forward with a strong left straight followed by a right hook, mixing in body shots as he pressed Kameda. Kameda responded with a right to the body, waiting for counter opportunities. In round three, Nery continued his forward pressure and leaped in with a straight left, but Kameda countered with a right uppercut. The latter half of the round turned into an inside battle, with Nery throwing uppercuts while Kameda landed short right punches.
In round four, as Nery cautiously searched for an opening, Kameda signaled him to come forward. Nery closed in with rapid combinations, while Kameda absorbed the attack and answered with a left uppercut and a right straight. In round five, an accidental clash of heads caused a cut above Kameda’s right eye. In the final 30 seconds, Nery landed a left straight and unleashed a flurry of punches.
Round six opened with a doctor’s check on Kameda. Nery continued his relentless assault with close-range combinations. Another headbutt occurred, opening a cut above Kameda’s left eye as well—making it a brutal bout with cuts over both eyes.
In round seven, Nery pursued Kameda into the corner and landed a right to the body, causing Kameda to drop to one knee. Although it initially looked like a slip, the referee gave an eight-count. After the fight resumed, Nery launched a barrage—landing a left body uppercut followed by a right hook. Kameda went down for the second time. Though he got back to his feet, his corner signaled their decision to stop the fight. Nery’s superior power overwhelmed Kameda and earned him the stoppage.
For the 30-year-old Nery, this was his comeback fight following his loss to Naoya Inoue (Ohashi Gym, 29–0, 26 KOs) at the Tokyo Dome on May 6 of last year. Despite scoring a knockdown in the first round, Nery was stopped in the sixth. The long-anticipated “Bad Boy Showdown” between Japan and Mexico had its share of emotional tension in the lead-up, but after the bout, both fighters showed mutual respect and acknowledged each other’s efforts.
Although Kyosuke Kameda was treated as nothing more than a stepping stone, he put up a remarkable fight—scoring what looked like a knockdown that was ultimately ruled a slip!
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