DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla.—International Boxing Federation bantamweight champion Joseph King Kong Agbeko has boldly predicted he will score a knockout victory over undefeated IBF No. 1-ranked mandatory challenger Yonnhy “El Colombiano” Perez when they meet in Don King’s Halloween Thrilla at Treasure Island Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, Oct. 31. (SHOWTIME 9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on West Coast) “I think I will defeat Yonnhy Perez by knockout,” Agbeko said from his South Florida-based training camp. “I’m not underestimating him. He’s a good fighter, but I know this is going to be a knockout for me..
“Perez should keep his confidence as an undefeated fighter and bring it to the ring. I want to face him at his best. After our fight, he will feel the same way I did after I suffered my only loss, except mine was a robbery; his will be real.”
Agbeko (27-1, 22 KOs), from Accra, Ghana, now fighting out of Bronx, N.Y., has been nothing short of sensational. He burst onto the world stage by defeating then-IBF 118-pound champion Luis “El Demoledor” Perez, from Managua, Nicaragua, when they met in Sacramento, Calif., in 2007.
Perez was riding a 10-fight winning streak, had not lost since 2000 and had been a world champion for nearly five years. Agbeko unloaded so many pin-point head shots, the ringside physician halted the contest in the seventh round, and Perez went to the hospital after the fight due to pain from body shots.
But it was Agbeko’s career-defining performance in his last fight—against a fighter in Vic Darchinyan that can usually back up his big talk outside the ring at fight time. Darchinyan threw everything he had at Agbeko, and, in a bizarre seventh round, the timekeeper even allowed an extra minute of fight time where Darchinyan was credited with a knockdown in what replays showed was an obvious push.
Unphased, Agbeko battered Darchinyan and scored a unanimous decision that moved him into the pantheon of best Ghanaian boxers of all time among greats like Azumah Nelson and Ike “Bazooka” Quartey.
YONNHY PEREZ READY FOR KING KONG CHALLENGE
Undefeated, top-ranked International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight contender Yonnhy “El Colombiano” Perez received the news of his upcoming opponent, Joseph “King Kong” Abgeko, and his knockout prediction with a smirk.
“I like the fact that Abgeko thinks he is coming to knock my block off,” said Perez (19-0, 17 KOs), who will challenge the defending IBF 118-pound titlist Agbeko (27-1, 22 KOs), of Accra, Ghana, by way of Bronx, N.Y., in the “Halloween Thrilla” at Treasure Island Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, Oct. 31., on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on West Coast).
“I really want him to show me how good he is. I love for fighters to make bold predictions. Just ask Silence Mabuza about his prediction before our fight last May. Ask him about his desire to go home early that night. Silence will tell you how dead wrong he was.”
Perez shocked the boxing world by knocking out the highly regarded Mabuza in the 12th and final round of a thrilling IBF eliminator in Johannesburg, South Africa. Perez, an underdog, was fighting in Mabuza’s hometown. It was a closely contested fight that could easily end up with Fight of the Year laurels.
“King Kong thinks he can measure himself by his victory over Vic Darchinyan, who only tried to knock him out from the first bell and came up in weight to face him,” Perez said.
“I am bringing my entire arsenal on Oct. 31. I will come out victorious and take the belt away from a great champion like Abgeko – and shut him up in the process.”
An undefeated Colombian who resides in California, Perez is putting the final touches to his preparation for the biggest fight of his career.
“Agbeko, be careful what you wish for,” screamed Perez during a blazing sparring session on Wednesday.