Daiki Kameda vs. Liborio Solis & Tomoki Kameda vs. Immanuel Naidjala RBR

:roll: They finally let Contreras announce the scores afterward, once Solis was already celebrating (and the crowd looking and sounding very subdued, almost like they were hoping for a robbery...I thought most fans over there were classier, and were for the most part sick of the Kameda bull**** :conf) - but the loud commentators virtually drowned him out with their excited chirping over the 'surprise' result.

It sounded like the spread was 115-113, 115-112, and 116-112 - but I'm not sure which score was for whom or from which judge.

 

Daiki Kameda retains his IBF title despite having lost. :!:


The WBA is now vacant.

 

It has been over three years since Daiki Kameda earned a world title by defeating a current titlist. (Takefumi Sakata in September of 2010...since then he is 1-2 in world title bouts and the IBF was vacant when he claimed it)

 

Things are really coming together for Liborio Solis, who is flawed but serviceable and was perhaps underrated heading into Osaka today. He was probably lumped in by some with Naidjala and Silvano as three hopeless challengers imported for the sole purpose of making the locals shine in gimme defenses. Certainly his record at first glance was the ugliest of all three. Yet whereas Naidjala and Silvano proved they didn't belong in the ring (Naidjala showing a bit more skill and Silvano more guts; but neither winning a round or even a single minute) Liborio was composed and businesslike all the way, neither awed by the moment or the hostile road crowd nor willing to let Kameda get away with his spoiling or attempts to claw a foothold. He really put the screws on Kameda and there is simply no way to justify one judge (Robert Hoyle) having Solis losing seven rounds. This should not have been a SD and wouldn't have been anywhere else but Japan. (I'll give Hoyle the benefit of the doubt in assuming he was swayed by crowd reactions to Kameda jumping in to shoeshine the body, rather than assuming he is part of the Kameda graft machine...)


All three of his losses were close, on points, and to good fighters. Ricardo Nunez has stoppages over Blanquet and Tamara, and nearly captured the IBF 112lb belt in a knockdown-drag-out brawl with Mthalane last year. Maldonado is a fringe contender, halted in his three steps up but all three conquerors were ranked hard-hitting prospects, two of them unbeaten. Vicente recently moved up to bantamweight and stopped Jorge Diaz, which is moderately impressive.

Still, it's been a long and difficult road and with the long periods of inactivity (ranging from eleven months to over five years, early on) he might have looked an unlikely candidate to reach these heights just a couple of years ago but has put in tortoise-like yeoman's work, slow and steady - his career trajectory matching his in-ring style - uppercutting his way atop the mountain. He is now 4-0 in world title bouts, three of them on the road...2-0 if you are loathe to count 'interim' belts. Still, that is four solid victories in a row - five, if you count a wide decision (wider than Nonito Donaire managed...) over Rafael Concepcion for a minor WBA trinket. Solis, while lacking the speed to ever become elite, has earned his place among respected title-holders of the non-paper strain.

I would actually feel comfortable saying he is currently the p4p #1 from Venezuela at the present moment. Top 5:

1. Liborio Solis (reasons stated above)
2. Johan Perez (rated #1 p4p in Venezuela at Boxrec. He recently bagged a career-best win over unbeaten Paul Spadafora, which is nifty, but I'm hesitant to over-credit that achievement given that Spadafora is 38 years old with a heavily padded zero and has fought nobody since Leo Dorin. This rounds out a nice year for Perez, outpointing unbeaten Japanese knockout artist Yoshihiro Kamegai in June and edging former champ Stevie Forbes by MD in January...all well and fine but not up there with Solis' body of work. Forbes is shot; Kamegai crude...and the MD over Spadafora counts for his only world title affair, for an interim belt at that - stacking up short with Solis' 2 interim and 2 'real' world title victories...)
3. Jorge Linares (probably the most talented Venezuelan, and riding a 4-0 streak, but all 10-rounders with nothing at stake; he is on the outside looking in on relevance and has a proven Achilles heel - facing anyone with a punch...)
4. Nehomar Cermeno (he should probably have seven or even perhaps eight losses on his record after sneaking out a SD over Escandon, which I had a draw. Still, the mere fact that Cermeno has been in so many close and highly competitive bouts against world class opposition - controversial decision over Mijares x2, SD losses to Moreno x2 and Terrazas, draw with Salinas, wider but spirited loss to Bakhtin, SD over Escandon - speaks to his pain-in-the-ass effectiveness...)
5. Alexander Muñoz (best days long since behind him, and yes he was retired for two years...and yes, he got smashed up by Leo Santa Cruz. In the first three rounds he was extremely game, however, surprising Leo and shutting up many pundits, myself included, who pegged him as being a pushover. Instead the pushover, until the first knockdown at the end of round 3, pushed LCS harder than anyone since - well, perhaps ever...)

Did not make the cut:

Miguel Acosta (has been a shell of himself since the Rios loss. Very smooth operator during his very short prime, but useless now...)
Jaider Parra (dominated and kayoed by Uchiyama in his only step up. Not up to his brother Lorenzo's standards...)
Several up-and-comers with unblemished records and high KO rates (Uzcategui, Barroso, etc. - all unproven and untested)

 

Koki would be a little harder for Solis to beat in Japan, mainly because he is less of a willing target and more of a natural mover than Daiki. Solis' extremely low hand speed can not really be overstated. Kameda would make him miss and probably be able to pot shot his way to a wide UD from outside, even if there were a few scares along the way or even if he suffered a knockdown or two.

Moreno - who probably won't lose to Koki, making the above point moot - would be literally impossible for Solis to beat, anywhere, even were it to be in Venezuela. He would be clowned horribly. I'm laughing my ass off just imagining it.

If he is still able to make super fly, a rematch with Daiki would be a great shot for Solis to redeem himself and unify (assuming they'll allow his now-vacant WBA belt to be on the line in the rematch) in one fell swoop.

 

:yep Dude's slimier than Porn-Stache from Orange Is The New Black.