AGBEKO GOT SERVED

The final of the Showtime Bantamweight boxing tournament pitted two of the best in the division against each other.Ghanaiann IBF bantamweight champion Joseph 'King Kong' Agbeko (28-2)22 KO'S was to take on Abner Mares(21-0-1)13 KO'S in what should have panned out to be a classical boxing fest. Instead we were treated to a combination of blatant cheating and/or glaring incompetence which both led to Agbeko being robbed of his title and the chance to win the tournament.
The challenger Abner Mares won the bout 115-111, 115-111, 113-113 in a majority decision.However,Mares cannot be said to have won cleanly,as he indulged in consistent low blowing,all of which went unpunished by referee Russell Mora.In fact,he ruled the most glaring of them all,a square punch to Agbeko's penis,as a knockdown,gifting Mares the points with which he easily scored his majority decision.A knockdown attributed to Mares in round 1 could also easily have been ruled a slip.The showtime commentator described the bout as the worst officiated he had seen in 15 years!!!.I couldn't have put it better myself .
When my brother woke me up around 2am to watch the fight,I fully expected to be treated to a clinical display of pugilistic skill;instead,what followed was the most disgraceful travesty of justice.The Ghanaian was summarily robbed of his title.Agbeko got a raw deal and the bout was a single,well-aimed low blow just as treachrous as what he endured in the 11th.
Joseph Agbeko is easily the best Ghanaian boxer of this current generation. King Kong has stood up to and defeated the best his division has to offer,establishing himself as one of ,if not the best, in his division.Agbeko is no whiner,yet after the bout he was clearly infuriated;going as far as to hint at racism and demanding an immediate rematch.This is no Joshua Clottey complaining of a broken finger or diaarhoea,Agbeko was definitely screwed.
The new IBF Bantamweight champion landed over ten low blows over the 12 rounds.When my brother woke me it was in the middle of the 2nd round,and i remember distinctly noting how the two fight commentators were harping on Mares' low blows.I remember thinking if they had anything against Mares(could be the whole U.S-Mexico stuff,who knows?) and if they weren't being too condescending towards Agbeko.Oh how wrong I was,and how right they were!!.
The fight itself was a good bout.It was by no means vintage Agbeko as Mares controlled the 1st half of the fight;The Ghanaian,however, did enough to stay within touching distance.He got knocked down,rather fortuitously I think,in the 1st round:the punch coinciding with a slip that sent him down.As Agbeko gradually tried bringing himself back in the bout,the consistent low-blowing from Mares kept him on the back foot.Amazingly,King Kong often got talked at by Mora whilst Mares was left alone,culminating in that blatant crotch punch in the 11th which gave Mares the title.
Agbeko was gradually getting himself back into reckoning when Abner Mares hit him Squarely in his nuts!!!The shot had power behind it and Agbeko had no choice but to go down.Incredulously,Referee Mora scored it a knockdown and proceeded to count Agbeko,who had no choice but to quickly rise,in obvious discomfort,to avoid losing to a knockout!.That blow was clearly illegal and considering how frequently Abner had employed it,he should have been disqualified or at the very least docked a point.Instead,he got two free points effectively ending the bout as a contest.
I tend to ignore a lot of stuff,preferring to sweep them under the carpet;and I often think racism is an easy excuse for a not quite good enough black man to fall back on.However in this instance even I would have to concede that the official Russell Mora had a thing against Abgeko. I totally endorse his decision to file a formal complaint and I firmly believe he should wear metallic underwear if and when he gets his rematch.
AGBEKO TRULY GOT SERVED!!!!!!!