Joseph Agbeko

Joseph Agbeko, also known as King Kong, is a retired Ghanaian professional boxer with an impressive career spanning over 20 years. He was born on March 22, 1980, in Accra, Ghana, and fought in the bantamweight weight class.

Agbeko had a total of 43 fights during his career, with 38 wins, and five losses. Of his wins, 28 were KO wins. He had no draws or no contests. Agbeko won his first world title on September 29, 2007, at the age of 27, by defeating Luis Alberto Perez to become the new IBF bantamweight titleholder.

Agbeko held the IBF bantamweight title twice, between 2007 and 2011. He also held the Commonwealth bantamweight title from 2004 to 2006 and the IBO bantamweight title in 2013. Additionally, he challenged once for a super bantamweight world title in 2013.

Agbeko's first professional boxing debut was on December 16, 1998, at the age of 18, against Agaitor Yao. He defeated Yao via a 1st round KO. After the debut, he won 20 consecutive fights, including 18 wins via stoppage.

Some of Agbeko's best fights and notable victories include wins over Vic Darchinyan, Luis Alberto Pérez, Juanito Rubillar, Martin Ahiadekey, Abdul Malik Jabir, Albert Commey, and Yonnhy Pérez.

Agbeko never suffered a loss from a KO, and all five of his losses came through decision. His first loss was against Volodymyr Sydorenk via 12 round majority decision on May 18, 2004, which ended his 21-fight winning streak.

Agbeko had his last professional fight on December 26, 2020, in a non-title bout against Albert Commey. He won the fight via 5th round TKO. Agbeko retired from professional boxing with a record of 38-5, including 28 knockout wins and two title wins.

Agbeko fought his first world title fight against Luis Alberto Pérez at the age of 27. He defeated Pérez via 7th round RTD to become the bantamweight champion of the world.

Agbeko was inactive for 1 year, 2 months, and 11 days before defending his title against William Gonzalez on December 11, 2008. In a fight that had been repeatedly postponed, he defeated Gonzalez via a majority decision.

On July 11, 2009, Agbeko successfully defended his IBF bantamweight title by scoring a unanimous decision victory over former two-division champion Vic Darchinyan.

However, on Halloween night, October 31, 2009, Agbeko lost his IBF title to 20-0 Colombian challenger Yonnhy Pérez via a 12 round unanimous decision.

In the semi-finals of the Showtime Bantamweight tournament on December 11, 2010, Agbeko defeated Perez through a unanimous decision to regain his IBF title.

Agbeko was scheduled to take on Abner Mares in the Bantamweight Tournament Final: Winner Takes All on Saturday, April 23, on Showtime. Agbeko pulled out of the fight just days before citing an injury. The fight was rescheduled for August 13, 2011, in Las Vegas.

The fight ensued as scheduled on the 13th. However, the focal point of the fight became referee Russell Mora, who repeatedly warned Mares for low blows without taking a point. To Agbeko's credit, despite at least 23 blows to the belt and below, he did not retaliate in kind.

After the fight, Jim Gray continued Showtime's lambasting of Mora in an interview, showing plainly the crucial call that turned the fight. A low blow in the 11th leading to a knockdown.

In all, there were two knockdowns. The first one came early which could have been called a slip, but a punch was landed. The second one was the result of what was undoubtedly a low blow. Without the knockdown, it is possible that Mares would not have won the fight. The scoring read 115–111, 115-111, and 113-113.

In December 2013, Agbeko faced off against Guillermo Rigondeaux for the WBA (Super), WBO, and The Ring super bantamweight titles. Unfortunately, he lost via a unanimous decision.

Despite the few losses of his career, Joseph Agbeko is still regarded as one of the best bantamweight boxers of his generation. His impressive career and numerous title victories have earned him a place in boxing history.

Joseph Agbeko Fight Record