by Geoffrey Ciani (Interviewed by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) – This week’s 117th edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio (brought to you by CWH Promotions) featured an exclusive interview with the reigning IBF bantamweight champion of the world Joseph ‘King Kong’ Agbeko (28-2, 22 KOs) who is scheduled to face Abner Mares (21-0-1, 13 KOs) on April 23 in the Bantamweight Tournament Finals. Here is what Agbeko had to say in that interview:
On how he feels with his upcoming matchup against Abner Mares:
“You know it’s a good matchup. Abner Mares is a very good kid and he’s a good fighter so I’m looking for a great fight.”
His views on Abner Mares’ close split decision victory over Vic Darchinyan:
“I think he fought well with Vic Darchinyan. It was a close fight. He did his best and he came out as the winner of that fight. Actually on the better side, fighting Vic Darchinyan was very easy. Even though Vic was a very, very tough fighter you can easily tell at the end of the fight that I won that fight.”
His views on Abner Mares as a fighter:
“I think he’s a very good fighter hungry for success. He sees himself as the newest kid on the block and he’s quite confident, and I think he’s good.”
On what he did differently to reverse the outcome of their first fight in his rematch with Yonnhy Perez:
“Yeah after that fight I said this a couple of times. I wasn’t very prepared for the first fight because I got it on short notice. I couldn’t really prepare for that fight so when I was in the ring I felt like I wasn’t very fit for the fight. I lost even though I did my best. The fight was very close, but I lost it. I came back and I had good time to prepare and I proved to the world that I’m the best bantamweight.”
On how he would describe his own fighting style:
“I think I’m a boxer and a fighter. I’m a puncher. I call myself an old school boxer.”
His views when he first discovered the bantamweight tournament:
“Yes it was the return of King Kong. I lost the fight to Yonnhy Perez and I had a chance to fight a rematch with him in this tournament. It was a very good opportunity for me. I was just so happy to be part of the tournament. Thanks to Showtime for putting on this beautiful tournament. I’m just so happy to be a part of it and I guess everything is going smooth for me.”
His views on Nonito Donaire as a fighter in the bantamweight division:
“No disrespect to Nonito Donaire, he’s doing his best but I can’t consider him as the best bantamweight in the world. Right now the winner of myself and Abner Mares is going to be the best bantamweight in the world. Nonito Donaire got a chance to shine and fight for the bantamweight championship. Him and Fernando Montiel didn’t get the offer because they are not that great like we in the top four. I’m not thinking about him. All I’m thinking about is beating Abner Mares and becoming the best bantamweight in the world. If he knows he can prove himself against the best bantamweight champion then he could follow me.”
On whether the win against Vic Darchinyan caused him to overlook Yonnhy Perez in their first fight:
“No, no, no. I fought a very tough fight with William Gonzalez which I won by majority decision. I respect any opponent that I come across. They are tough and they also want to win your belt, so I didn’t disrespect him. I got it short notice and I hadn’t really trained too well. When I got in to the ring I realized I wasn’t prepared to win the fight and that’s why I lost.”
On the story behind how he first started using the “King Kong” moniker:
“King Kong is not my nickname. King Kong is my real name. It’s what my dad named me so it’s not my nickname.”
On why he thinks his father named him ‘King Kong’:
“I don’t really know, but I think it’s a gift from God. I think God made my dad give me that name because he has a plan for me and he has a career for me and that’s why he gave me that name and it determined my career and my future.”
On beating Luis Perez to win his first title:
“Yeah it was a good day for me. You know every boxer’s dream is to become a world champion one day and I got the opportunity to fight Luis Alberto Perez on that date. I knew that I was going to become a champion. It was an opportunity I always prepared for and I never got it. Showtime and Don King Promotions gave me the opportunity to fight Luis Perez on that day and I was very happy because I knew I was going to come out as the winner. So it was a very, very good day for me.”
On why he spent so much time outside the ring after winning the title:
“Yeah it was because I had to fight my challenger who’s name was William Gonzalez and we were having a problem with where the fight was going to be and if it would be on TV and so on. So it made the promotion a little difficult for Don King to promote that fight. I ended up with the fight happening but that was why it took awhile before I came back.”
On what his views were being the underdog going into his fight with Vic Darchinyan:
“Yeah you know, I don’t think there is anybody out there who can beat me if I’m very well prepared. I don’t think any of them will be able to beat me. No disrespect to them, they are very, very good but I think I’m the best right now. Fighting Vic Darchinyan that night I know a lot of people thought I was going to lose that fight because Vic is very gifted, a very good boxer, very tough, and he punches very, very heavy. He wanted to take my belt that night but I knew I was the best bantamweight and none of them would be able to push me.”
Regarding some of his favorite fighters that he enjoys watching today:
“Oh, I love Floyd Mayweather. I love Manny Pacquiao. I like Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Roy Jones.”
On whether he is disappointed that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather have never fought and whether he believes it ever will take place:
“I’ll leave that to the promoters to put that fight together. That’s the fight that the whole world wants to watch and when the time comes they’ll fight. The promoters will do their job and get them in the ring someday.”
His views on Manny Pacquiao’s success as a fighter and what he has done for the sport of boxing:
“I think Manny Pacquiao, and I say a lot, it’s not easy to come out here to America and make it very big right here. He was able to. He came all the way to the top in the world to that elite level. He is an example to all the young ones coming.”
On whether he believes Shane Mosley has a chance against Manny Pacquiao:
“Boxing is boxing. You know it’s kind of unpredictable. They are both training to come and win and boxing always comes up with surprises. I believe in Manny. I believe in Sugar Shane. So you can never tell. The ring will decide. When they get into the ring they will have the outcome so when they get into the ring we will know the winner.”
His views on the keys to victory against Abner Mares:
“I have no plan for that. My coach is working on the plans for that fight. I have no plans. The only thing I think I have to do is train hard and be at my best level of fitness because I want to be able to do anything that I want to do. The most important thing is I have to make him pay because he’s a good fighter, but I was here before him so I have to make him pay the price of experience.”
His official prediction for his upcoming fight against Abner Mares:
“I don’t really know. I respect every opponent that I face. It might be the distance, it might be a knockout. I can’t tell right now but the ring will decide but the most important thing is I know I’m coming out and training seriously.”
On what he wants to say to all of his fans out there:
“I want to thank all of my fans for believing in me and for being behind me. Ever since I lost the fight against Yonnhy Perez they were still behind me so I became a champion again. I still need their support and I’m going to win for them against Abner Mares.”
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For those interested in listening to the King Kong interview in its entirety, it begins approximately forty-four minutes into the program.
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