Fourteen years ago today: Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko vs. Yonnhy "El Colombiano" Pérez 1

The "Halloween Thrilla" lived up to its somewhat corny billing.

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It was a sizable upset. I for the life of me can't find any trace of what the actual betting lines were online (and wouldn't you know it, our VBookie thread history starts less than a month after this fight :lol) but there are several articles mentioning Agbeko being a strong favorite with the bookmakers.

Here is yours truly's preview thread:
https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/agbeko-vs-perez.166272/
(shoutout my 2009 self! )

Yonnhy's time in the spotlight was the definition of meteoric. Prior to beating Mabuza he was almost totally unknown despite going the unusual route of establishing himself in the USA from his pro debut onward, as opposed to padding up a house of cards record at home like most Colombians.

This pair of world class victories five months apart would end up being the last of his career, drawing with Abner Mares and losing a rematch to Agbeko the following year before Vic Darchinyan thrashed him in early 2011 and proved once again that you can't do "triangle logic" in boxing (as Pérez bested Agbeko who bested Darchinyan who bested Pérez). El Colombiano would officially announce his retirement eleven months later at just 33 - citing a lack of passion for the sport and the demands of training, with emotional strain from being distanced for such long stretches from his family.

Homeboy showed up, gave us five good fights on the big stage (well, 4 really; the Darchinyan execution was just sad...and it going to scorecards for a TD on a cut from headbutts is the only thing sparing him a KO loss on his record) and dipped. Respect. See you, space cowboy.

Agbeko meanwhile didn't get to enjoy the fruits of his labors for too long upon avenging this defeat - as waiting just around the bend for him was a 24 round appointment with the aforementioned testicular mallet on legs, Abner Mares, dropping two consecutive decisions and the IBF strap to him. The first of those, a unification the judges awarded to "Lil Abner" via MD, was highly controversial and prompted another (very pissed off) thread of mine:
https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/agbeko-has-one-legitimate-loss.335498/

The rematch was a more legit UD for Mares, and soon followed by a shutout at the well-schooled hands of Guillermo Rigondeaux. Joe would rebound from this mini slump with a 9-0 (7) streak that has technically not yet ended - the 43 year old has still not thrown in the white towel on his career, although he last stepped in the ring three years ago, with large a shift in focus to promotion and mentorship in his native Ghana - but his last really excellent win remains Pérez II. While a good fight itself, that one didn't come near the sustained fireworks of this Ring magazine FOTY candidate (which lost out narrowly to Juan Manuel Márquez vs. Juan Díaz 1).

 

I always found that little quartet of bantamweights - Agbeko, Pérez, Mares and Darchinyan - so interesting. Between them you had enough p4p talent for it to be its own miniature/poor man's Four Kings era - but each was also deeply flawed in some ways that couldn't be ignored.

Mares couldn't resist nut shots. In fact, ask most longtime fans the worst instance of refereeing they can remember in the last twenty years, and Russell Mora failing to penalize Mares in the first Agbeko match specifically will get honorable mention if not the crown.

Agbeko for his part was no angel when it came to fouling and was guilty of his own bugaboo - enough of a chronic purveyors of headbutts that he was often deridingly called Little Holyfield and the like on forums such as this one.

Darchinyan was too in love with his power. His awkward, unorthodox style and KO artistry led some to label him a caveman but his skills were underrated. He just had too much fun setting them aside to rumble, which his whiskers couldn't always support.

And then we have Pérez, maybe the most well-rounded of the bunch (despite his country's reputation for producing crude bangers), who arrived on and vanished from the scene not even 2 years apart, because fighting just wasn't in his blood.

 

Aggy, btw, remains the reigning & defending WBO bantamweight African titlist. (last challenger was Gabe Ochieng in 2019)

 

I honestly would have much preferred a rubber match to close the book on this over Mares clogging up both of their schedules and mashing their inland oysters the next couple of years.