Abner Mares Vs Joseph Agbeko Countdown Thread...........

IBF bantamweight champion Joseph Agbeko (28-2, 22 KOs) and undefeated, rising 118-pound star Abner Mares (21-0-1, 13 KOs) will conclude SHOWTIME’s “Bantamweight Tournament Final: Winner Takes All” on Saturday, August 13, at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas beginning at 10 PM/ET.

“I thank SHOWTIME for this tournament,” Agbeko said. “It will make me the best 118-pounder in the world when I win on Aug. 13.”

The bantamweight tournament has pumped new life in the careers of both finalists. Agbeko avenged his October 2009 title loss to Yohnny Perez by outclassing him in their rematch last December. Mares took one-step closer toward becoming a star in the division by besting former undisputed world flyweight titlist Vic Darchinyan in what was an exciting fight.

Both Agbeko and Mares fought Perez and Darchinyan. They are both very crafty boxers and can fight very well. They are the best, but there can only be one bantamweight king.

Agbeko strongly believes that he is already the finest in the division and that Mares won’t “survive.”

“My prediction is that the announcer will say "And STILL IBF bantamweight champion of the world....” Agbeko stated. ““I love fighting boxers over fighters because boxers use their brain. This will be a good fight. I know that we have both fought Vic (Darchinyan) and Yonnhy (Perez). He survived that but he will not survive me.”

The bantamweight tournament has proven to be a showcase for Mares.

The former 2004 Mexican Olympian survived a mean and nasty cut over his eye during the early rounds of his fight with Darchinyan. It appeared as though Mares was going to be outclassed by the stronger and more experienced former champion. However, Mares dug deep and showed Darchinyan he has resiliency and that he can fight when pressed.

Mares’ bout with Darchinyan was indeed the toughest of his career.

Mares said: “I expect nothing but tough fights at this point in my career. It helps me prepare better. Against Vic (Darchinyan), I fought a war. I'll do whatever I need to do. In December, I had to change my plan because of the cut (on my head). Depending on how the fight goes over the first few rounds, I'll adjust. I plan to box more this time but you never know.”

According to David Itskowitch, COO of Golden Boy promotions, a Mares victory would make the former Olympian the first boxer to win a world title since their professional debut under Golden Boy.

“When Abner wins this fight on Aug. 13, he will be the first fighter to have his pro debut all the way through winning a world championship with Golden Boy,” Itskowitch stated. “It's been quite a journey. I'm proud to know him. He is a family man and an example for all athletes. He got here by winning a great knock-down, drag-out fight against Vic Darchinyan and the Final should be just as exciting.”

Mares too share his promoter’s enthusiasm. “It would mean everything to get the IBF world title,” he added. “Knowing you're the world champ, that's everything.”

Agbeko’s promoter, the famed Don King even likes Mares, but understands the business of promoting is world champion and believes in his ability to win.

“I like Mares but it's going to be a day for Joseph,” King said. “You've got to be there on the scene. If you can't, check it out on the screen. This fight is a statement. We're part of history, and sorry Abner, to be a part of history, one must be sacrificed.”

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJW2Ip2Wm-M[/ame]

Premier sports are airing the fight over here in the UK, not sure what time they go on air but i'll put it in here and the TV thread when i find out. Should be a great fight.:bbb :bbb :bbb

The poll is public :deal

 

You had to make this after I got rid of my King Kong avatar didn't you? Well, don't worry, it'll be back in time for the big night, where Mares is going to get handled.

 

WAR KING KONG!

Hopefully the lay off hasn't affected him too much.

 

both **** off out my thread :yep

surprised someone hasnt made a thread up before on this fight, should be a cracking fight

 

It's almost guaranteed to be a FOTY candidate I reckon.

 

I think we may hear the word 'clinic' mentioned if Agbeko gets on his toes and boxes. Mares' awkward shuffling forward ain't gonna work against someone who can side-step and throw a lead straight right like King Kong does.

 

I just fear that Agbeko will be rusty, and as a resuly of his long lay-off, a bit less sharp, which could really hamper his performance. I know he coped well with inactivity before his rematch with Perez (Boxed, moved, dominated), but there have been times when inactivity has affected his performance, like in his fight with William Gonzalez. Agbeko looked significantly less sharp in that fight, he struggled a bit to find his range, and couldn't always get his shots off, making the fight closer than it probably should have been. I hope the same doesn't happen against Mares, because if Agbeko is 100%, and fights like he did against Perez 2, then he should win this one. Though there's always a chance the inactivity could harm his showing.

Also, Agbek's power is underrated IMO.

 

Meh, we can only speculate on that though really. I'm anticipating this fight as being one where we'll see the best of both fighters. We can only tell if the layoff has effected him if problems resulting from it come to fruition in the ring on the night, because there's obviosly no way we can know at this stage, or at any stage prior to the bout in fact. We've seen both the good and bad sides of Joseph after a spell of inactivity, so it's hard to say. If he had the same kind of display he had in the WillGon fight against Perez, well then there's definite cause for concern, but alas that's not the case so we have to expect(or hope, in my case anyway) that we'll see an Agbeko reminiscent of Perez II.

Because if we do I think he'll win relatively distress-free(would probably the best way to put it), I think Mares will have success early with pure workrate while King Kong gets back into the proverbial swing of things, but after that I expect Joseph to assume control. One thing I'm sure Agbeko's team will have noticed from watching the Mexican against Vic and Yohnny is that Abner's flaws are crying out for a decent mover to exploit them. They haven't got anywhere near the movement required to really be able to dissect Mares properly IMO. He'll get out-manuvered if Joseph chooses to, like he should, box on his toes, he'll keep him off-balance almost always and make him pay for his uneducated aggressiveness by tagging him with those lead right hands through his rather poor guard and whip in some right hooks to the body before either grabbing on or peeling away.

I think he'll be able to grind Mares down as the fight progresses and really slow him down over the course of the bout, he's got more intelligence to him and I think that'll show in there, it'll be the main component in what I anticipate to be a victory for him.

 

Mares close UD WAR MARES!

 

Hmmm....I do though think it's conceivable that, despite his inactivity, Agbeko had success against Perez, possibly because he had of course already fought Perez, and was somewhat accustomed to Perez style (which is pretty robotic and predictable), thus allowing him to fight in a way which exploited Perez's flaws. Of course, against Gonzalez, Agbeko was facing a fighter who's style he had not encountered before at the top level, he had no real knowledge of William before fighting him (Not in the way he did against Perez) and with a similar lay-off to the one he had prior to Perez 2 behind him, he struggled to find his rythm in the fight and performed below his ability. I mean, could he had success against Perez, even with the inactivity, because he already knew Yohnny's moves? And could he have performed poorly against Gonzalez because he didn't?

I do agree with you though, it's only really speculation and not for definite. But I am just saying I wouldn't be all that surprised to see Agbeko a little rusty in this fight.

Totally agree with this.

 

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Mares is ready!

 

Nice 1:good

anymore pics of recent training vid's feel free to add :thumbsup

 

^^^ Great pic! Mares looking in good shape. Can't wait for this!

 

:deal

Mares doesn't do bad fights.

 

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