Lerato Dlamini, Tomoki Kameda Set For IBF Title Rematch
Lerato Dlamini is confident that Tomoki Kameda's rematch will be a rematch rather than revenge.
Dlamini and Kameda will fight for 12 rounds in the IBF featherweight on Saturday at Yamato Arena, Suita (Osaka Prefecture), Japan. Their second act will also be broadcast live on ABEMA TV, and in Africa on DAZN (9 am UK/ 4 am ET).
On Friday on the scales, Dlamini weighed 125.2 pounds. Kameda came in at 125.7 pounds.
Colin Nathan, who trains and is Dlamini's manager, is confident that his work will be replicated in other countries. This will allow the resurgent fighter to set his sights on a fight with newly crowned IBF World Featherweight champion Angelo Leo.
“Preparations have gone very well, and if anything, we've put in a tough training camp this time,” Nathan told The Ring on Friday morning. “We expect Kameda to be aggressive and start quickly in this rematch. However, whatever he does, we will have an answer (for him) and beat him at every door.”
Dlamini (20-2, 11 knockouts), who lives in Linksfield, South Africa, scored a split victory over Kameda on October 7. The fight was in Tokyo, Japan.
Dlamini, 30, has won his last two fights since losing a close decision to James Dickens in October 2022.
Earlier this year, the IBF ordered Dlamini to face Arnold Khegai in a title fight. Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) won the bid on April 30, replacing Nathan. The plan was to promote the card on July 13 in Johannesburg, South Africa, where Nathan lives and trains his players from his private gym.
Khegai, who recently signed a promotional deal with Top Rank, has decided to go the WBO route. He is currently ranked number 1 by the judging panel.
Osaka's Kameda (41-4, 23 KOs) last fought on March 31, stopping Kevin Villanueva after the fifth round. Prior to the loss to Dlamini, Kameda had won his previous four fights since a unanimous decision loss to WBC junior featherweight world titleholder Rey Vargas in July 2019.
The 33-year-old won the WBO world featherweight title in August 2013, defeating Paulus Ambunda by unanimous decision. Kameda made three successful defenses before being stripped of the title against second WBA title holder Jamie McDonnell in September 2015. McDonnell defeated Kameda twice.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has handled boxing in Southern California and internationally since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. They can be reached at [email protected]
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