Joseph “King Kong” Agbeko’s name is starting to be recognized among the lower weight classes as a premier boxer after defending his IBF Bantamweight (118 lbs.) belt against the great Vic Darchinyan. The Ghanaian took Darchinyan to school, showing his whole repertoire of moves. He revealed to the world that he’s not just a power puncher. He showed that he has pin point jabs and wide hooks. He also showed that he uses his awkward footwork to his advantage by going in and out of his opponent’s range. He had great head movement that frustrated Darchinyan in some stretches of the match.  And of course he could and did slug it out and inflict damage when he wanted to. He played a controlled game that showed his maturity. His Darchinyan win is a debut of sorts as the top dog in the bantamweight division, showing that he is ready for any battle ahead. That battle will be forged in Las Vegas on October 31 against the tough and scrappy fighter Yonnhy Perez.

Yonnhy Perez, a relative unknown outside of his native Colombia, has risen from the ranks to become Agbeko’s mandatory challenger. With nineteen wins and no losses (14 knockouts), Perez appears to be a young up-and-comer, but he is not. He is already thirty years old. He started late with his professional career, thus the record. And while he earned his chance to become the challenger, his past rivals are not of the same caliber as Agbeko’s. Perez has certainly won against a lot of journey men to achieve his immaculate record. While his fast hands are effective against his past opponents, it is a question mark whether his fists will be as effective when fighting Agbeko.

But if his last fight is any indication, no one can count out Perez against Agbeko. Perez’s match against the formidable Silence Mabuza of  South Africa showed that he may have a fighting chance against King Kong. In the said fight, the Colombian was down in all the judges’ cards at the end of the penultimate round as Perez was often pinned to the ropes and tagged with body punches by “African Spice” Mabuza. Perez went toe to toe against Mabuza to steal the fight via a technical knockout in the twelfth round, making him the mandatory challenger to Agbeko.

However, Agbeko is the more proven fighter as between him and Perez. The champion Agbeko shows that he is more versatile, adjusting his game according to his opponent. While Perez has certainly shown that he has the heart to grab a come-from-behind victory, it may not be enough for the power punching champion, who has shown poise to win in the judges’ scorecards, and even possibly a middle round knockout.

Photo credit: Ghana Voices