By Anthony “Stacks” Saldaña 

Saturday July 13th Golden Boy Promotions brings an action packed night of fights to the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California as the WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Rey Vargas (33-0, 22 KO’s) takes on the WBC No. 1 Contender and former world champion Tomoki “El Mexicanito” Kameda (36-2, 20 KOs) in a highly anticipated super bantamweight showdown. “Golden Boy is no stranger to big events with stacked undercards, and much less when it comes to having them at the Dignity Health Sports Park,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy. “Not only is this place the home of the LA Galaxy, it has also become a battlefield for some of the most exciting wars this sport has ever seen. July 13 will not disappoint as the best 122-pounder in the world in Rey Vargas defends his world title against an explosive challenger. Most importantly, however, this stacked card will also demonstrate what we have been doing at the Golden Boy for many years: producing stars and making the best fights possible.”

Vargas the Mexico City native, who is trained by the legendary Nacho Beristain, last entered the ring in February. That night Vargas tasted the canvas early on but was able to survive that knockdown and came away with a hard fought victory over Franklin Manzanilla. Now the Mexican champion will look to make the fifth defense of his title he captured from Gavin McDonnell in 2017 when he takes on the Japanese warrior Kameda. “This is going to be a hard and complicated fight,” said Rey Vargas. “Kameda is a difficult opponent who has been a world champion. Above all, however, he has a thorn in his side that he’ll want to take out because I beat him in the amateurs several years ago. This is an interesting fight. He is a quick fighter and he’ll look to take advantage of that, but thanks to God and my corner we are already working to counteract the strategy of this Japanese fighter. God willing, we will walk away with our hand in victory.”

Kameda who was born in Japan but raised in Mexico City is no stranger to Vargas, and in fact knows the WBC Champion well. “I know Rey Vargas very well. We fought in the amateurs during my time in Mexico. I look forward to getting my revenge against him and becoming a two-division world champion. I know Vargas is a tall fighter with long arms, but the Mexican style that I possess will give him a lot of trouble and make for a great fight for the fans.” Stated Kameda. As a young fighter in Mexico, Kameda adapted to the culture well and his aggressive style of fighting quickly earned him the nickname “El Mexicanito”. In 2013, Kameda defeated Paulus Ambunda to win the WBO Bantamweight World Title, and he successfully defended his title three times before challenging and losing to Jamie McDonnell twice for the WBA Bantamweight World Championship. In his last bout Kameda claimed the vacant interim WBC title by winning a unanimous decision over Abigail Medina to become Vargas’ mandatory opponent.

In the co-main event, Diego De La Hoya (21-0, 13 KOs) of Mexicali, Mexico will take on hometown favorite Ronny Rios (30-3, 14 KOs) of Santa Ana, California in a 12-round fight for the vacant WBA Gold Super Bantamweight Title. De La Hoya who is the first cousin of Oscar has had number of his last fights at bantamweight canceled due to his failure to make weight, including a night where he was to headline a show for his hometown fans in Mexicali, Mexico. Instead the rising contender was forced to withdraw from his fight after being hospitalized following a fainting spell. The incident was due to De La Hoya trying to cut the last few pounds ahead of his planned fight, but De La Hoya passed out during a final training session and was rushed to the emergency room for immediate treatment. Now De La Hoya looks to leave those incidents behind him when he battles the world title contender Rios.  “This is another step closer to a world title challenge, and I promise to give my fans a night to remember,” De La Hoya said. “Ronny Rios is a tough fighter, but these types of challenges motivate me to perform at my best. I won’t be denied a victory.” Rios who is 2-2 in his last four fight which includes a loss to the WBC champion Rey Vargas will look to get back to his winning ways. Rios recently spoke to Supreme Boxing and stated  “I’ve had an excellent training camp in preparation for De La Hoya, I’ve had some great sparring with Rocky Hernandez and honestly I’m super confident I can capture the title in front of my hometown. I learned a lot after my last two losses, I’m mentally and physically in a better place, I’m more prepared, focused and motivated than I have ever been for a fight. 

Also on the card the younger brother of Ronny Rios, Welterweight prospect Alexis “Lex” Rocha (13-0, 8 KOs) of Santa Ana, California will defend his WBC Continental Americas Welterweight Title in a 10-round bout against Berlin Abreu (14-2, 11 KOs) of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republican.

Joet Gonzalez (22-0, 10 KOs) of Glendora, California will fight for the vacant WBO Global Featherweight Title in a 10-round bout against Manuel “Tino” Avila (23-1-1, 8 KOs) of Fairfield, California 

Mexican rising star Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez (28-0, 25 KOs) will return in a 10-round super featherweight fight against an opponent to be named later.

Jousce “Tito” Gonzalez (8-0-1, 8 KOs) of Glendora, California will return in a six-round lightweight fight. 

Jonathan Esquivel (10-0, 9 KOs) of Anaheim, California will battle in a six-round super middleweight fight and Adrian Benton (1-0) of Cincinnati, Ohio will participate in a four-round super lightweight fight.

Vargas vs. Kameda is a 12-round fight for the WBC Super Bantamweight World Title presented by Golden Boy in association with Promociones del Pueblo and TGB Promotions. The event is sponsored by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING,” and Hennessy “Never Stop. Never Settle.” The event will take place Saturday, July 13 at Dignity Health Sports Park and will be streamed live on DAZN.

Tickets for Vargas vs. Kameda go on sale Thursday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. PT. Tickets are priced at $75, $50, $25 and $10, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges. Tickets can be purchased at goldenboytickets.com, AXS.com, by phone at 888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849), and at the Dignity Health Sports Park Box Office (Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. PT to 6 p.m. PT). VIP Suites are available by calling 877-604-8777. For more information on group discounts or VIP packages, call 877- 234-8425.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and DAZN.com. Follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing and @DAZN_USA. Become a fan on Facebook

at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and https://www.facebook.com/DAZNUSA/. Follow on Instagram @GoldenBoy and @DAZN_USA. Follow the conversation using #VargasKameda

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