On Halloween night in Las Vegas, King Kong will return to American soil in an attempt to strike terror in the heart of at least one man at Treasure Island Resort and Casino.The fighter who goes by the nickname, "King Kong," is Joseph Agbeko of Accra, Ghana, a 118-pound, beast of an IBF bantamweight champion with a record of 27-1 with 22 knockouts.
Agbeko, 29, is direct regarding what he plans to do to Colombian-born power-puncher Yonnhy Perez (19-0, 14 knockouts), of Sante Fe Springs, Calif., in defense of his title.
"I predict a knockout," he said, "because I know I'm going to knock him out."
Agbeko, who is fighting for only the third time in 25 months, is coming off of July's 12-round, unanimous decision victory over Armenian-born southpaw Vic "Raging Bull" Darchinyan of Austrailia, which is considered the defining triumph of his career.
"I think that Agbeko is on the way to greatness. [You have] a great champion in King Kong Agbeko, and he's growing by leaps and bounds," said promoter Don King, who is bringing boxing to the Treasure Island for the first time ever. "This guy is a tremendous gladiator ... he moves [and] he thinks when he's fighting."
Darchinyan had risen from 115-pounds to challenge Agbeko, having owned the WBC, WBA and IBF super flyweight titles.
"I believe that Darchinyan was a very, very big win, and it's very respected. But my dream is to become a unified world champion. I want to become the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world," said Agbeko, who has won three of his past six bouts by knockout since losing a majority decision to Wladimir Sidorenko in May of 2004.
"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."Speaking of game, Perez believes he's seen flaws in the champion's, having been ringside for Agbeko-Darchinyan.
"[Agbeko] fought with a lot of heart, gave a great performance, and he obviously beat Darchinyan with ease. It would have been an embarrassment if he didn't beat Darchinyan with ease, because Vic was a guy moving up in weight from 115 to 118," said Perez, 30.
Agbeko is motivated by two Ghanian legends, Azumah Nelson and Ike Quartey. Nelson was a three-time champion at featherweight (126) and super featherweight (130), and Quartey, a former welterweight (147) titlist.
And whenever Agbeko is in training, Nelson and Quartey are often frequent visitors to the gym.
"Azumah and Ike inspire me and are very good champions of Ghana. 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," said Agbeko.
"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."
"Yonnhy Perez definitely can't stay in there with me. I want everyone to know that he's going to get his first defeat on Oct. 31. It's going to be a knockout."
-- Joseph Agbeko Agbeko will be making his second appearance in Las Vegas, having stopped Fidencio Reyes in four rounds at the Hard Rock Hotel in August of 2007 during his American debut.
It will be Agbeko's fifth straight time fighting on U.S. soil, where he has totaled a mark of 4-0, with two KOs.
It will be Agbeko's third defense of a title he won in September of 2007, when he stopped Nicaraguan Luis Alberto Perez at Sacramento's Arco Arena. Perez was knocked out for the first time and lost for only the second in 27 bouts.
Since then, however, Agbeko has fought only twice, scoring a majority decision over William Gonzalez in January of 2008, and defeating Darchinyan.
"I'm happy that I'm coming back very quickly. Boxing is my life, boxing is my food. Boxing is my everything," said Agbeko. "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 back so soon [after four months,] and I thank my promoter for getting this very quickly."
Perez is coming of a 12th-round knockout of Silence Mabuza in May.
"I was once undefeated, and I know how difficult it is. [Perez] feels confident because he has never been beaten before," said Abeko. "But Yonnhy Perez definitely can't stay in there with me. I want everyone to know that he's going to get his first defeat on Oct. 31. It's going to be a knockout."
