This Saturday night was to be the finals of Showtime’s (American premium cable network, and producer of world-class boxing events) bantamweight tournament featuring Abner Mares vs. Joseph Agbeko at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, after collapsing on Monday due to, what has been reported, a case of sciatica, Agbeko has had to pull out of the bout and it is likely the finals of the tournament will be cancelled.
Before this fatal blow, the bantamweight tournament had been praised for being quik – only lasting two rounds – and including some of the best fighters in the weightclass; characteristics that Showtime’s super middleweight tournament does not possess.
The super middleweight tournament has been marred by fighter injuries and pull-outs, and has drug out due to the series’ format and squabbles between fighters over the dates and venues for fights.
Yet, with all the goodwill the bantamweight tournament had built, Showtime has once again been served a bitter platter or dissapointment.
One can only hope that through all of the drama and shortcomings of these tournaments, Showtime will not keep from producing them in the future, or hinder HBO, or other networks from developing fight series with the best fighters in the world battling each other over a series of bouts.
