By Jake Donovan
Their first was one of the best among the early editions of the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series. Now, Jamie McDonnell and Tomoki Kameda will have a chance to surpass the original, as the pair of bantamweights will once again collide in Texas, with their rematch set for September 6 in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Event handlers formally announced the show Thursday morning, confirming the news story krikya360.com broke earlier this week .
As was the case with the first bout, the sequel will air live on CBS and once again as a co-main event. The bantamweight fight is paired up with a super middleweight clash between Anthony Dirrell and Marco Antonio Rubio.
McDonnell (26-2-1, 12KOs) pulled off a minor upset with his split decision win over Kameda this past May in Hidalgo, Texas, his first in the United States. The rangy Brit did so the hard way, climbing off the canvas to rally back and barely edge the previously unbeaten Kameda in a terrific TV fight.
The rematch with Kameda will mark the third defense of his title and second straight stateside appearance,
“I am delighted to be going back to the states and facing Kameda again,” said McDonnell in a statement through Leija-Battah Promotions, the leading promoter in Texas who co-promotes this event in association with Warriors Boxing. “The first fight was brilliant, he’s a class act and I wish that the first fight had gone on even longer.
“People wrote me off before the first one but I was always confident that I would beat him and I am even more confident that I will do it again. If I start well this time I think I will stop him.”
Their CBS-televised clash in May saw Kameda (31-1, 19KOs) suffer his first career defeat, albeit one he felt was unwarranted. The loss was doubly damaging, as Kameda was stripped of his own title prior to the fight for agreeing to take on a secondary titlist.
He now has a chance to get at least one belt back around his waist.
“This is the fight I wanted and I’m thankful to have the opportunity to rematch Jamie McDonnell,” said Kameda. “I thought that I won the first time, but this time I will leave no doubt. I can’t leave it up to the judges this time, my plan is to dominate.”
Dirrell (27-1-1, 22KOs) fights for the first time since losing his super middleweight belt in a 12-round decision to Badou Jack this past April in Chicago.
Rubio (59-7-1, 51KOs) also has not fought since his last defeat, which came last October at the hands of unbeaten middleweight knockout artist Gennady Golovkin.
TELECAST AND TICKET INFO
The show will serve as a special edition of PBC on CBS, airing live on a Sunday afternoon (4:00 p.m. ET). The occasion will mark the last Sunday before the first week of games for the 2015 National Football League (NFL) season, which air live on CBS and Fox during Sunday afternoons from September through late January including postseason games.
Tickets—which officially went on sale Thursday morning—are priced at $109, $93, $49, $38 and $15, not including applicable service charges and taxes. Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com, the American Bank Center Box Office or by calling Leija Battah Promotions at (210) 979-3302. To charge by phone call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox