In reference to the main event taking place this weekend on Showtime Championship Boxing from The Honda Center in Anaheim, California, it must first of all be acknowledged that this second fight between Ghanaian prizefighter Joseph ?King Kong? Agbeko 28-3 (22 KO?s) of Accra, Ghana, and Mexican pugilist Abner Mares 22-0-1 (13 KO?s) fighting out of Hawaiian Gardens, California for the IBF and WBC Silver bantamweight titles, is happening for two reasons. One reason is that the IBF did the right thing in ordering an immediate rematch less than 24 hours from the time Team Agbeko had filed an official protest after one of the most horribly officiated bouts ever took place in their first meeting this past August, where it was reported that as many as 28 low blows would land on Agbeko by title challenger at the time, Abner Mares, without the benefit of even one point being deducted from Mares by referee Russell Mora. The second reason this bout is taking place is that Abner Mares, who has nothing but respect for Joseph Agbeko as a fighter, as well as a human being, is a stand up kid who not only has no problem with a rematch, but he welcomes it, wanting to prove to the world that his victory over Agbeko was no fluke, and that he is the better fighter irregardless of any controversy. Stated an anxious Mares, ?I can?t wait till December 3rd so I can show everyone what Abner Mares is made of.?
Given that Mares would stray low with his shots on more than one occasion as a result of Agbeko pulling the Mexican fighters head down, by far the majority of low blows were landed by Abner of their own accord, in a bout that was close enough where the final verdict rendered could have, and should have went the other way, according to many observers, whereby Agbeko would in fact have retained his IBF title. Even Mares himself would acknowledge what the referee would not, stating, ?I do see where all the controversy comes from. There were some low punches, but I tried to correct them. There were times when he pulled my head down and the ref told him not to.? And in referring to a blatantly obvious low blow in the eleventh round which would inexcusably be called a knockdown by referee Mora who was perfectly positioned to make the call, Mares recollected, ?I thought at one point I was going to get penalized, but I just went to a neutral corner and just saw the ref started counting.? Quite the opposite from being penalized, Mares would ironically be awarded the eleventh round by a score of 10-8. This terrible decision by the referee would be in addition to another somewhat controversial call as early as round one, where Mares was awarded a knockdown even though Agbeko had apparently lost his footing and slipped to the canvas.
