By Lem Satterfield
The second half of Showtime's bantamweight tournament has found a date, and a home. IBF bantamweight champion Joseph Agbeko will face unbeaten Abner Mares in the final bout of the tournament. The two boxers who were beaten in the first half, former champions Vic Darchinyan and Yonnhy Perez, will collide in the co-feature. The Showtime televised doublheader will take place on April 23 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.
The opening semifinal bouts took place on Dec. 11, during which the 25-year-old Mares (21-0-1, 13 knockouts) won a clash over the 35-year-old Darchinyan (35-3-1, 27 KOs) that featured a knockdown by each fighter. Perez lost the other semifinal -- and a rematch in the second defense of his crown -- against the 30-year-old Agbeko (28-2, 22 KOs) -- the man Perez won the belt from by unanimous decision on Halloween of 2009.
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.
