Joseph Agbeko

Joseph Agbeko (born 22 March 1980) is a Ghanaian professional boxer and former IBF bantamweight champion.

Professional career

On September 29, 2007, he dethroned Luis Alberto Perez to become the new IBF bantamweight titleholder. Agbeko was inactive for 1 year, 2 months and 11 days before defending his title on December 11, 2008. In a fight that had been repeatedly postponed, he defeated William Gonzalez by majority decision. On July 11, 2009, Agbeko successfully defended his IBF bantamweight title by scoring a unanimous decision win over former two division champion Vic Darchinyan. On Halloween night, October 31, 2009, Agbeko lost his IBF title by 12 round unanimous decision to 20-0 Colombian challenger Yonnhy Pérez.

Perez vs. Agbeko II

On December 11, 2010, Agbeko was given the chance to regain his IBF title when he took on Yonnhy Pérez in the semi-finals of the Showtime Bantamweight tournament, which was televised live from the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington. Rather than brawling as he had done in his first fight with Pérez, Agbeko chose to use his boxing skills and stiff jab to cruise to a unanimous decision victory, with the judges scoring it 116-112, 117-111 and 115-113. Also on the card was Abner Mares, who defeated Vic Darchinyan via controversial split-decision to advance to the finals and a showdown with Agbeko.^[1]

Agbeko vs. Mares

"King Kong" Agbeko was scheduled to take on Abner Mares in the Bantamweight Tournament Final: Winner Takes All on Saturday, April 23 on Showtime. However, Agbeko pulled out of the fight just days prior citing an injury. The fight has been rescheduled for August 13 in Las Vegas.^[2]

The fight ensued as scheduled on the 13th. However, the focal point of the fight became referee Russell Mora who repeatedly warned Mares for low blows without taking a point. To Agbeko's credit, despite many blows to the belt and below, he did not retaliate in kind.

Post fight Jim Gray continued Showtime's lambasting of Mora in an interview where he plainly showed the crucial call that turned the fight. A low blow in the 11th leading to a knockdown.

In all there were two knockdowns. The first coming early could have been called a slip but a punch was landed. The second was the result of what was definitely a low blow. It is possible that without the knockdown, Mares would not have won the fight. The scoring read 115-111, 115-111 and 113-113.

Professional boxing record

30 Wins (23 Knockouts), 5 Losses, 0 Draws[3]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Win	30–5	Juanito Rubillar	TKO	4 (10), 1:31	2015-05-30	El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas
Loss	29–5	Guillermo Rigondeaux	UD	12	2013-12-07	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey	For WBA (Super), WBO and The Ring Super Bantamweight titles.
Win	29–4	Luis Melendez	UD	12	2013-03-22	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra	Won IBO Bantamweight title.
Loss	28–4	Abner Mares	UD	12	2011-12-03	Honda Center, Anaheim, California	For IBF and WBC Silver Bantamweight titles.
Loss	28–3	Abner Mares	MD	12	2011-08-13	Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Lost IBF and WBC Silver Bantamweight titles.
Win	28–2	Yonnhy Pérez	UD	12	2010-12-11	Emerald Queen Casino, Tacoma, Washington	Won IBF Bantamweight title.
Loss	27–2	Yonnhy Pérez	UD	12	2009-10-31	Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Lost IBF Bantamweight title.
Win	27–1	Vic Darchinyan	UD	12	2009-07-11	BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, Florida	Retained IBF Bantamweight title.
Win	26–1	William Gonzalez	MD	12	2008-12-11	Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey	Retained IBF Bantamweight title.
Win	25–1	Luis Alberto Pérez	RTD	7 (12), 3:00	2007-09-29	Arco Arena, Sacramento, California	Won IBF Bantamweight title.
Win	24–1	Fidencio Reyes	TKO	4 (8), 1:23	2007-08-09	Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	23–1	Baba Nsor	TKO	4	2007-03-23	Azumah Nelson Sports Complex, Accra
Win	22–1	Sumaila Badu	UD	12	2004-10-29	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
Loss	21–1	Wladimir Sidorenko	MD	12	2004-05-18	Hansehalle, Luebeck, Schleswig-Holstein
Win	21–0	Cedric Conway	TKO	6 (10)	2003-06-13	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
Win	20–0	Charlemagne Agbotomey	TKO	4 (10), 1:02	2002-10-04	Globe Cinema, Accra
Win	19–0	Sabin Bornei	TKO	6 (12), 1:30	2002-05-10	Britannia Hotel, Millwall, London	Won WBF Bantamweight title.
Win	18–0	Michael Kizza	TKO	2 (12)	2001-09-08	Kaneshie Complex, Accra
Win	17–0	Faustin Rostand	TKO	2 (6)	2001-07-27	Kaneshie Complex, Accra

Honors

In 2010, to honor Joseph's exploits in the sport of boxing, the town of Sogakope in the Volta Region of Ghana enstooled him as a warrior chief. His enstoolment name was Togbe Kaletor I, which means 'Brave Warrior.'^[4]

References

External links

• Professional boxing record for Joseph Agbeko from BoxRec