Boxing

Angelo Leo Retains IBF Title, Beats Tomoki Kameda By Majority Decision In Japan

Angelo Leo makes the most of his trip to the "Land of the Rising Sun", leaves Japan still the IBF featherweight title.
Johan Alyas Blanco|
Angelo Leo
Angelo Leo | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Angelo Leo's trip to enemy territory pays off Saturday.

The 31-year-old defeated Tomoki Kameda by majority decision on Saturday. Leo (26-1, 12 KOs) retains his IBF featherweight title.

The judges scorecards read 114-114, 116-112 and 115-113. The fight was streamed live on ProBox TV.

The bout took place at the Yamato Arena in Kameda’s hometown of Osaka, Japan. The fight was billed as the “final chapter” for Kameda (42-5, 23 KOs), with this being arguably the 33-year-old's last chance at a world title.

The first few rounds were a feeling-out process, with both of them measuring range and battling for dominant foot position. Leo was targeting the body early, having a lot of success with his lead left hook downstairs. Meanwhile, Kameda's most effective shot early on was his right hand, he just wasn't throwing it as much as he should have.

As the fight went on, both boxers started fighting in the pocket, going head-to-head and exchanging body shots. When they would separate, Leo would continue to establish his jab and use his movement to get to his spots and try to stall any rhythm that Kameda was picking up.

Output became the name in the game of this fight, with the reigning IBF champion being efficient while the hometown hero was pushing forward but not throwing punches. Kameda's best work comes when he's able to put his opponents against the ropes, but that was becoming difficult due to Leo's forward and lateral movement, and constantly cutting angles.

Despite Leo throwing at a high volume, Kameda was answering back with his own combinations. The fight ends with both fighters, sitting down and throwing on the inside, capping of an entertaining fight.

In the end, Leo's jab and movement separated the two throughout the fight. Inside fighting was an even exchange, but once there was space between them, Leo was doing some good, textbook-style work. And while Kameda was trying to come forward to initiate more pocket-exchanges, Leo would land punches off the back foot.

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Leo makes his first defense of his IBF featherweight title, and wins his sixth straight fight. After the fight, Leo said that he plans to make another trip to Japan, even wanting to come back in the summer.

As for Kameda, it's going to take a few wins before he can get another opportunity at a world title. This was his first title shot since July 13th, 2019, when he unsuccessfully challenged Rey Vargas for WBC super-bantamweight champion. Kameda hasn't held a title since 2014, when he was the WBO bantamweight champion.

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Johan Alyas Blanco
JOHAN ALYAS BLANCO

Johan Alyas Blanco is a writer for KO On SI. Before joining in March 2025, he worked as a News Producer in Tallahassee and Orlando. He also works for several fight promotions in boxing and MMA, working on social media content. When he’s not writing, Alyas covers boxing on his own YouTube channel, The Split Decision. Blanco has a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from UCF, with a minor in sports business management. Alyas has interviewed several big names in combat sports, including Jorge Masvidal, Edgar Berlanga and Brian Norman Jr. His goal is to bring boxing back to prominence.

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