Jamie McDonnell wanted to stop Tomoki Kameda on Sunday in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The 29-year-old English bantamweight contender felt that he needed to KO Kameda given the razor-thin decision he earned in their first bout in May, but the judges of his CBS/Sky Sports-televised rematch with the talented Japanese boxer were more than satisfied with his forward-marching aggression and higher punch output.

McDonnell (27-2-1, 12 knockouts), who scored a knockdown with a short right cross in Round 12, won by scores of 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112, but Kameda didn’t make it easy for him despite the wide nature of two of the official tallies. The youngest member of Japan’s famous fighting family was fast, mobile, sharp and accurate whenever he let his flashy hands go.

However, Kameda (31-2, 19 KOs), a 24-year-old former beltholder from Osaka, was not consistent with his offense. The Mexico-developed boxer-puncher was content to punch on the fly for much of the bout. The shots that Kameda landed were crisper than those landed by McDonnell, but he often landed only one power shot at a time; and he also fell short with most of his jabs.

Opinion was split on which bantamweight deserved to win the fight among fans who posted their opinions on social media, but most observers saw a close fight. The CBS commentators thought Kameda clearly outboxed McDonnell. The Sky Sports commentators believed that McDonnell thoroughly outworked Kameda.

“I felt more in control of this fight,” McDonnell, who suffered an early knockdown in the first bout, said during his post-fight interview. “It was easier this time.”

Kameda also thought it was easier this time.

“I thought I won a lot more clear than the last fight,” he said during his post-fight interview. “I think I did everything right.”

McDonnell retained a version of the WBA 118-pound title that is not recognized by THE RING, which views Juan Carlos Payano as the legit WBA bantamweight champ.