Daiki leads Kameda brothers into history books

Japan\'s Daiki Kameda beat Rodrigo Guerrero of Mexico on points Tuesday to secure the vacant International Boxing Federation super-flyweight title and a place in the history books for himself and his two brothers. The 24-year-old\'s victory by a unanimous verdict meant the Kamedas, once known for their crude behaviour in and out the ring, became the first trio of brothers to hold world boxing titles at the same time. His elder brother Koki, 26, is the current World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight champion and Tomoki, 22, holds the World Boxing Organisation bantamweight title. When Tomoki won his title last month, the Kamedas became the first trio of brothers to have held world titles at separate points in their careers. Only eight pairs of brothers have held world titles simultaneously. The IBF\'s third-ranked Kameda used his footwork to dodge fourth-ranked Guerrero, a former holder of the same title, who tried to fight in close range and switched between left-handed and right-handed stances. There was a moment of suspense in the tenth round when Kameda\'s short one-two hooks to the face left the Mexican tottering. But Guerrero fought back Kameda\'s flurry of punches to wage an exhaustive slugfest. The three American judges all scored in Kameda\'s favour. Glenn Feldman carded it 114-112, Eugene Grant 116-110 and Robert Hoyle 117-109. Kameda, a former WBA flyweight champion, was slapped with a one-point penalty twice for a low blow in the fifth and 11th rounds. Guerrero disputed the scorecard, saying: \"I thought I was slightly ahead on points.\" \"My opponent was deducted a point twice. In particular, two judges gave such a big margin which is unreasonable.\" The champion\'s belt had been stripped from Mexican Juan Carlos Sanchez on June 8 when he failed to make the weight for his title defence in Las Vegas against Argentine challenger Roberto Domingo Sosa. Sanchez won the fight but the title in the 52.1-kilo (115-pound) division, also known as junior bantamweight, had remained vacant. Kameda\'s record improved to 29 wins, 18 of them by knockout, and three losses. It was the 25-year-old Mexican\'s fifth loss against 19 wins, 12 of them by knockout, and one draw. It was also Kameda\'s first world-title bout since he bowed to WBA super-flyweight champion Tepparith Kokietgym of Thailand in December 2011. \"I am really happy to join my brothers (as champions),\" a tearful Kameda said on the ring as his siblings, who had earlier helped in from his corner, looked on. \"Now we are the world\'s number-one brothers and I want you to keep on supporting us. \"I have always been told that if I stuck to my game plan I would win. But in my last fight, I lost because my emotions got the better of me.\" Guerrero said that the Japanese \"moved better than I expected\". The fight was the first IBF title bout in Japan since the Japan Boxing Commission joined the world body in April. Source: AFP