Mares and Agbeko go to war while Mora and Showtime tarnish the fight

By Tommy Allan It has been a long time since there has been so much hoopla surrounding the outcome of a fight but the bantamweight tournament final between Joseph Agbeko and Abner Mares delivered in a big way. I’ve been trying to think back to the last time I had seen social network sites and message boards ablaze regarding a fight outcome and the only thing that really comes to mind with the same sort of circumstances with officials, was the first fight between Lucian Bute and Librado Andrade. A lot of what is being said regarding low blows is true – Abner Mares hit Joseph Agbeko low on more than one occassion. What is irking me about this fight more than anything though, including the performance of Russell Mora, is the performance of The Showtime commentators Antonio Tarver, Gus Johnson and Al Bernstein. Throughout this fight anything that was landed borderline or on the beltline they were calling low. I’ve watched this fight three times now, once live with the volume turned up, once without volume and once again this afternoon with the volume on. While watching live I could not believe what I was listening to – Some of the calls the guys on Showtime made were making me forget how bad of a job Russell Mora was doing with the shots that actually had been illegal. As a long time admirer of Al Bernstein’s work I felt he and his colleagues got this wrong. There’s no doubt in my mind the guys had an off night on Saturday. Bernstein to me is one of the best minds in boxing, but I think this is one he should go back and watch again. I actually think everyone debating this fight should go back and take a look one more time. Let me give you one instance, at 2:18 of the 3rd round a call gets made by Al Bernstein where he states Mares hits Agbeko low, this was not low, it can clearly be seen landing smack bang on the beltline of the former champion. Throughout the fight the guys on Showtime were doing this – Yes Mares was fouling, but no, Mares did not foul Agbeko nearly as much as the guys made out during the broadcast. It seems to me the commentary has influenced a lot of viewers opinions on this fight and that is something that is not fair on Abner Mares, the fans and the people who have worked hard to bring Abner to where he is now.