Only one shall remain
New York, NY– Last winter, by matching four of the top bantamweight (118) fighters in a two bout, single-elimination “winner takes all” tournament to determine who would eventually fight (Nonito Donaire) for supremacy in their respective weight class, another innovative concept that the “suits” at Showtime put forth and a great night of boxing ensued. Here’s the low down of the throw down that transpired on that eve: In a rematch of their 2009 war, Joseph Agbeko beat Yhonny Perez (UD 12) while Abner Mares earned a unanimous nod from the judges in a scintillating war against Vic Darchinyan over 12 rounds. Postmortem, in a let down semi final contest between Vic Darchinyan and Yhonny Perez, Vic was credited with a technical decision win after the fifth round due to Yhonny’s inability to continue due to a cut from an accidental head butt.
Agbeko (left) Don King (center) Mares (right)
NON HOUSEHOLD NAMES LOOK TO BRING THE HOUSE DOWN
IBF bantamweight titleholder Joseph Agbeko (28-2, 22 KOs) will defend his belt against high volume punching contender Abner Mares (21-0-1, 13 KOs) over 12 scheduled rounds of throw down for the crown at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Saturday at 10 PM ET on Showtime.
PLETHORA OF POWER AT PLAY
Albeit very different in styles, these main event pugs have much in common. Both throw massive amount of punches and statistically have 35 knockouts in 52 fights. Agbeko has turned the lights out of six of his last twelve opponents while Mares has whacked out eight of his last twelve. Hence, if Agbeko and Mares bring their best game to the dance; one can expect a fiery display of fistic combat.
ESPN JOINT
Adhering to the norm, “ESPN Friday Night Fights” kicks off the boxing weekend. Each installment of the decorated series features news, analysis of upcoming bouts, interviews, celebrity guests offering insight into the world of boxing, and competitive scraps. This week’s main event showcases former welterweight (147) belt holder and loser of two straight Kermit Cintron (32-4-1, 28 KOs) pitted against rugged journeyman Antwone Smith (20-2-1, 12 KOs) over 10 rounds or less from the Family Arena in Saint Charles, Missouri, Friday at 9 PM ET.
John Signorella