Yonnhy Pérez vs. Joseph Agbeko II
| Date | December 11, 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue |  Emerald Queen Casino, Tacoma, Washington, United States | ||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | IBF Bantamweight Title. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | |||||||||||||||||||
| Agbeko defeats Perez via unanimous decision | |||||||||||||||||||
Four of the world’s most talented bantamweights will participate in The Bantamweight Tournament: Winner Takes All. It is a two-stage, single-elimination tournament of 118-pounders – which begins with two Semifinal bouts on Saturday, Dec. 11, from Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash.
In the opening bout, undefeated, world-ranked rising star Abner Mares of Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico, will face two-division world champion Vic Darchinyan of Sydney, Australia, by way of Armenia.[1] In the main event, Perez and Agbeko will square off against each other for the second time. They had fought a Fight of the Year candidate last October, and the bantamweight standouts will likely repeat their scintillating performance when they meet.[2]
Build up
Rather than an immediate rematch with Perez and Mares, Perez will be facing Joseph Agbeko for the second time in the first round for his IBF, which he won from him, in Showtime's upcoming bantamweight tournament while Mares faces Vic Darchinyan. The winners of both fights will face each other sometime in early 2011.[3]
They are barely unknown outside of boxing circles, fighting in a 118-pound division that rarely gets any attention. But they've all signed on for a single-elimination tournament in hopes of not only making a name for themselves, but also providing boxing fans with some exciting fights. The tournament originally was scheduled for Leon, Mexico, but Showtime did a site survey and realized that the cost for staging the event there - including security in a region that has been besieged by violence among the drug cartels - would be prohibitive. When no venue could be secured in Los Angeles, the event was moved to Tacoma, Wash. Perez is the only current champion, [Vic Darchinyan IBO champion] while Agbeko have held world titles and Mares is a top contender. They have a combined record of 102-4-3 with 76 knockouts.[4]
The fight
Abner Mares won a split decision and Joseph Agbeko was a unanimous winner in the semifinals of the Tournament. Agbeko (28-2) beat Yonnhy Perez (20-1-1), receiving winning scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 115-111 from the judges.
Mares (21-0-1) edged Vic Darchinyan (35-3-1) all night. Two judges scored it 115-111 and 113-112 for Mares, and the other had it 115-111 for Darchinyan.
Each of them had one knockdown. Darchinyan opened a cut on Mares' left hairline in the first round that bled throughout the 12-round bout. After a slow start, the 25-year-old Mares ralled after Darchinyan dominated the first few rounds in the opening fight with a strong left. Mares won despite losing a point in the fourth round for his second low blow after a warning from the referee.
That penalty seemed to ignite Mares, and he had Darchinyan up against the ropes in the fifth and knocked him down with a left in the seventh. Mares, a popular fighter in his native Mexico, jumped on the ropes in each corner and waved to the crowd even before his win was announced. The Armenia-born Darchinyan knocked down Mares with a left in the second round. But Mares willed his way to the end. Darchinyan is considered among the heaviest punchers in the 118-pound division. Darchinyan, lost for the first time in four fights since losing by unanimous decision to Agbeko in July 2009.
In the second bout of the night, the 30-year-old Agbeko returned to the ring for the first time since losing a unanimous decision to Perez in October 2009 in Las Vegas. Agbeko, dominated the early and late rounds. Neither fighter had a knockdown. Agbeko and Perez each were boosted on shoulders of their corner staff after the match before the announced decision. But Perez had no problem with the decision. Perez, failed to retain his IBF title. Perez will fight Darchinyan in a consolation bout on the same card as the Mares-Agbeko title fight.
Agbeko expects a showdown next spring against Mares.
Undercard
Televised
- Bantamweight bout:
Yohnny Perez(c) vs. 
Joseph Agbeko
- Agbeko defeats Perez via unanimous decision.
- Bantamweight bout:
Vic Darchinyan(c) vs. 
Abner Mares
- Mares defeats Darchinyan via split decision.
- Super Flyweight bout:
Cesar Seda vs. 
Ernie Marquez
- Seda defeats Marquez via TKO in round 1.
- Super Bantamweight bout: Chris Avalos vs. Cecilio Santos
- Avalos defeats Santos via RTD at 0:01 of round 4.
External links
References
- ^ "SHOWTIME SPORTS BANTAMWEIGHT TOURNMENT". GoldenBoyPromotions. 2010-12-07. http://www.goldenboypromotions.com/news/showtime-sports-bantamweight-tournment-to-be-held-at-emerald-queen-casino-in-tacoma-wash.
{{cite journal}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "Perez-Agbeko II: The Rematch". RingTV. 2010-12-10. http://www.ringtv.com/blog/2591/perezagbeko_ii_the_rematch_fans_should_be_talking_about_but_arent/accessdate = 2010-12-10.
- ^ Blake, Brian O. (October 4, 2010). "Showtime Holds Press Conference For Upcoming Bantamweight Tournament". SportsBettingWorld. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
- ^ Connor, Patrick (December 7, 2010). "Showtime Bantamweight Tournament: Vic Darchinyan vs Abner Mares Preview". BoxingBulletin. Retrieved December 7, 2010.