Angelo Leo beats Tomoki Kameda to retain IBF title

Angelo Leo retained his IBF title with a win over Tomoki Kameda in Japan.

Angelo Leo made a successful defense of his IBF featherweight title, going on the road to Japan and defeating Tomoki Kameda by majority decision.

One card came back even, 114-114, with Leo taking the other two on scores of 115-113 and 116-112.

It was a hard-earned win for Leo (26-1, 12 KO), who was able to hold off Kameda (42-5, 23 KO) and his veteran attempts to nick rounds. It was a stronger performance for Kameda than some may have expected, really, after he hadn’t been in a marquee fight like this for several years.

“Kameda was a tough competitor, but we got the job done,” Leo said after the fight. “I landed more shots and I think that’s what won me the fight.

“Tomoki was a lot stronger than I expected. He’s really fast with his punches. It was everything I expected except for the power, he had a little bit more power than when I sparred him.”

The 33-year-old Kameda is now 2-2 in his last four fights, while Leo, 31, notched his sixth straight win as his career resurgence continues.