“My dream is to become a unified world champion,” Agbeko said on a recent conference call to promote the Halloween night bout. “I want to become the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world. My dream is to defeat every boxer that comes my way, not just Vic Darchinyan, not just Luis Perez, not just Yonnhy Perez. But my dream is to win every fight that comes my way. I’m ready for the world and I’m ready to become No. 1 pound-for-pound in this game someday. That’s what I always prepare for.”
Agbeko has been very vocal leading up to this bout, talking trash, storming an open media workout for Perez, and predicting a knockout. Some might look at this and claim the title has gone to his head but Agbeko would disagree. He is simply just that confident.
“I’d like to congratulate Yonnhy for his victory over Silence Mabuza,” Agbeko said. “He really did well. I’m expecting a good fighter, he’s undefeated. I was once undefeated, and I know how difficult it is. He feels confident because he has never been beaten before. But, I want everyone to know that he’s going to get his first defeat on Oct. 31. It’s going to be a knockout.”
For a fighter known for a tricky style reminiscent of the great Ghana fighter Azumah “The Professor” Nelson, this is a bold statement and possibly a problematic one. While his KO ratio is solid (78% of his opponents have not seen the final bell) Agbeko has not been the kind of KO puncher at the elite level that he was when he just a prospect coming up the ranks.In Perez he faces an undefeated two-fisted volume puncher who will be looking to take advantage of any and all openings presented by overly aggressive attack. And while Perez does not bring a ton of world class experience to the table, his win over Silence Mabuza was one of the year’s best fights and showed he had grit, toughness, and late stoppage power few knew he possessed. But despite all that, Agbeko believes that “0” in Perez’ loss column is actually his Achilles Heel.
.“He’s a very good, undefeated fighter,” explained Agbeko. “I love when I’m fighting people like that because people want to think that nobody can defeat them because they’ve won all their fights. I love it when it comes to that because I always want to do something that people think nobody can do.”
Accra, Ghana has a fine fighting tradition. Both former welterweight titleholder Ike Quartey and the aforementioned three-time feather and super featherweight world champion Azumah Nelson hail from there and have been a source of both inspiration and personal education. With bars set high, it’s easy to see why Agbeko works as hard as he does to prepare each and every fight out and is pushing to reach that ultimate goal: to be named the best fighter in the world.
“Azumah and Ike inspire me and are very good champions of Ghana,” said Agbeko of his mentors. “I always look up to them and they always advise me. They’ve been there before and they were able to make it, too. They teach me what to do and they always point me in the right direction. I also want to become like them. They are the fighters that opened up the way for us. I would like to tell the world that they are always motivating me and pushing me to go higher. I’m trying and working hard to carve up my own destiny, to be No. 1 pound-for-pound.”
Despite winning a title and having a world class promoter like Don King handling his career, Agbeko has spent the last two years mostly on the bench. But since his big win over Darchinyan, he has been in demand. Fighting four months after such a tough win is just what the doctor ordered for Agbeko who eats, drinks, and sleeps the sport.
“I’m happy that I’m coming back very quickly,” Agbeko said. “Boxing is my life, boxing is my food. Boxing is my everything. I’m going to always be a fighter and win all my titles. I wish I could fight everyday. I’m very, very happy that I’m so soon and I thank my promoter for getting this very quickly.”
Still, with all the talk of hard work and making his pound for pound dreams a reality, it’s hard to get around that knockout prediction. Fighters talking out of character is rarely a good thing. And while he did stand up to the hard talking Darchinyan with brash talk of his own, one has to wonder if the knockout fight plan is the way to approach an undefeated banger like Perez. As the saying goes, box a puncher and punch a boxer. But Agbeko insists his prediction is not one born of false bravado or pre-fight hype but good old-fashioned confidence.
“I respect Yonnhy Perez a lot,” Agbeko insisted. “I predict a knockout because I know I’m going to knock him out. I’m so confident because Yonnhy Perez is a good fighter. He can come forward, he can go backward. Fighting a very good fighter is always difficult. It makes you work harder. Yonnhy Perez can definitely not stay in there with me. He’s definitely going to get stopped.”
With training camp finished, the fighters already in Vegas, and only the last words at the final press conference left, all that remains is a great match-up between a live number one contender underdog in Perez and rising title holder in Agbeko. Perez’ great win over the South African Mabuza last May has added a little something personal for Agbeko who says he plans to succeed where his fellow countryman failed.
“This fight is going to be an enjoyable for me,” Said Agbeko. “I’m a confident fighter and I really enjoy it when I fight another confident fighter. Perez has to know that “King Kong” is different from the other African boxers because I deliver. I’m going to deliver what I say.”
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