By Cliff Rold

Making only his second trip to Las Vegas, 29-year old IBF Bantamweight titlist Joseph Agbeko (27-1, 22 KO) of Accra, Ghana has returned with something anyone wants in the desert oasis.

Agbeko is hitting the strip already on a hot streak.

Come Saturday night, he’ll need the cards to keep dealing his way.  He knows what it’s like when that doesn’t happen.  A professional since 1998, Agbeko toiled towards his first title shot in 2004, a chance at then-WBA titlist Wladimir Sidorenko in Germany.  Agbeko’s solid performance was rewarded with a controversial majority decision against him.

Opportunities, and patience, have since have worked out in his favor.

Inactive from late 2004 until early 2007, Agbeko posted a pair of wins in the latter year and got a shot at IBF titlist Luis Perez, battering the Nicaraguan into a seventh round corner retirement.  More inactivity waited as it took over a year for Agbeko to make his first title defense in December of 2008.  With two defenses now under his belt, Agbeko makes his third start in less than a year on the cusp of serious stardom.

And Bantamweight remains on the cusp of becoming one of the sport’s most realized divisions. 

Agbeko joins WBA titlist Anselmo Moreno (27-1-1, 9 KO) and WBC titlist Hozumi Hasegawa (27-2, 11 KO) in as strong a trio of beltholders as can be found in the sport.  Throw in veteran three division titlist, and current WBO beltholder Fernando Montiel (39-2-2, 29 KO) coming off a controversial outing against Alejandro Valdez and undefeated young contenders like Abner Mares (19-0, 12 KO), Nehomar Cermeno (18-0, 10 KO), and Yonnhy Perez (19-0, 14 KO) for good measure. 

The ingredients are clearly in place for some explosions.  Can the fights happen to take advantage of the talent?  It remains to be seen in a division which, while one of boxing’s oldest, has not seen a unification fight among various titlists in almost forty years.

Agbeko defends against Perez on Saturday in a contest eagerly anticipated by serious boxing fans and talks about the possibility of unification bouts in the future.  It looks like the mixing bowl is coming together.

Speaking with Agbeko on Monday evening, his first priority is the California-based Colombian Perez.  “Preparation is good.  Everything is good.  I’m ready for the fight.” 

Perez enters the bout off of a twelfth round knockout of longtime South African contender Silence Mabuza, in South Africa, in May of this year.  The Mabuza win has been only one of Perez’s fights which have been a focus of film study for this contest.  “I watched a couple of his fights, like three fights.  Not just Mabuza.  I know what he can do…he’s a very good fighter.” 

Fans can hope Perez meets the description as Agbeko has shown that, with good opponents, he makes very good fights.  In his first defense, on the undercard of the Cruiserweight war between Tomasz Adamek-Steve Cunningham, he was matched with William Gonzalez and they nearly stole the show. 

This past May, Agbeko entered the slight underdog for a defense against streaking World Jr. Bantamweight champion Vic Darchinyan.  In a fast paced affair, Agbeko used a hard jab, deft footwork, and well timed lead rights to defuse the hard hitting southpaw, earning a unanimous decision in his biggest win to date.

Asked to reflect on the Darchinyan victory, Agbeko stated, “He was a good fighter.  He was really tested.  I love fighting the best people…People were thinking he could beat me but I believe I’m the best.”  The win brought spoils both in the ring and back home.  “It was great…All Ghana loved me.  They really appreciated the good things I was doing.  I was so happy.  There was a huge crowd at the airport.  It felt good.”

Agbeko is not the first champion to experience such accolades in Ghana, particularly Accra.  The capitol city has built a rich boxing tradition which includes former Featherweight champion David Kotey, former Welterweight champion Ike Quartey, and Hall of Famer Azumah Nelson.  Agbeko cited Quartey as his hometown favorite and gave credit to the boxing programs in Accra for the city’s success.  “I think we have a very good balance.  All the young guys coming up are looked after.  We always work hard.” 

Despite the hard work, even with his successes beginning to multiply, the lone defeat on his ledger still bothers Agbeko even if he’s moved past it.  “I think (the Sidorenko loss) was a daylight robbery.  Everybody there at the venue and everybody watching on TV knows that I won that fight.  I think…I needed to knock him out.  It was a daylight robbery but it’s ok.”

Being a champion can make a lot of things okay but the crowded 118 lb. field can make for lots of debate about just who is the best fighter in class.  Agbeko has his take on where he belongs.  “I think Bantamweight has good fighters, good names.  I think I’ll turn out to be the best among all of them.  I know I can beat all of them to prove I am the best Bantamweight.” 

If he can get past Perez this weekend, Agbeko has his sights on some of the other champions.  “I would like to fight Fernando Montiel and Hasegawa.”  Agbeko stated that a Montiel fight had been discussed previously, but “due to his mandatory, a fight couldn’t come off.  I think he’s fighting Gerry Penalosa (scheduled for December 19th) so I’m getting ready for the winner of that fight.”

Beyond the Montiel-Penalosa winner, Hasegawa is recognized by ESPN, Ring Magazine, and BoxingScene as the top fighter at Bantamweight right now.  Agbeko would love to test the notion but a fight with the Japanese battler could face some political problems.  The island nation only recognizes WBC and WBA titles.  Agbeko sees the solution in travel.  “If Hasegawa wants to fight the best Bantamweights, then he has to fight me.  If that is going to happen, it would have to happen in America anyway.  He has to fight me to say he’s the best Bantamweight and I believe I am the best Bantamweight and none of them can beat me right now.  They have to fight me.”

For Agbeko, proving himself the king at Bantamweight would only be a beginning.  “My goal is to become number one, pound for pound.  All the belts I’m going for, I want to fight the best in my division to prove…I want to be the best pound for pound.” 

Even with all of the great history in Accra, topping the pound for pound charts has eluded the best who have come before him.  “That’s something I want to do, to put my name there to make Ghana stand out.”

Whether he can get there or not remains to be seen, but the talent exists at Bantamweight to get Agbeko closer to his dream.  Perez will be a test this Saturday.  If he wins, changing the tide of four adrift decades could be an even bigger one.

The Weekly Ledger

But wait, there’s more…

Shobox Review: http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=23025  
24/7 Pt. 1: http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=23045 
Ratings Update: http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=23069
Picks of the Week: http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=23071

Cliff’s Notes…

For anyone who missed it, find a replay of ESPN’s 30 for 30 piece, “Muhammad and Larry.”  It’s an incredible show...Ok, if former Cruiserweight king David Haye beats Nicolay Valuev, is there anyone who wouldn’t want to see him face current Cruiser champ Tomasz Adamek?  It could produce an exciting Heavyweight title fight, which some folks probably think isn’t possible anymore.  That’s incentive enough…Interested fans can see the non-televised undercard for Agbeko-Perez this weekend, including the return of IBF Jr. Middleweight titlist Cory Spinks, for only $5.99 on DonKingTV.com starting at 6 PM EST Saturday…Would anyone be shocked if Spinks wound up as a Mayweather opponent in 2010? 

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com