World title beckons Agbeko; returns to ring Saturday
Ghanaian boxer Joseph ‘King Kong’ Agbeko returns to the ring on Saturday for a possible warm-up to a potential world title fight in November.
Advertisement
He fights a yet-to-be-named opponent in a supporting bout to the highly-anticipated rematch between Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas.
The former IBF bantamweight champion, now fighting as a super-bantamweight, last fought on December 7 when he suffered a unanimous points decision against WBA super-bantamweight champion, Guillermo Rigondeaux, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Agbeko, who has since remained in Las Vegas to train at Mayweather’s gym, has turned down two world title fights against the WBC title holder, Leo Santa Cruz, and the WBA titlist, Scott Quigg, in favour of a tune-up fight in the new division before putting himself in line for another shot at a world title.
The 34-year-old Ghanaian [29-5 (22 KO)], who is now managed by The Mayweather Team (TMT), could land a shot at Quigg’s title if the Briton retains the crown against Belgian Stephane Jamoye at the Phones 4u Arena in Manchester on Saturday.
Agbeko’s local manager, Ebenezer Noye, told the Graphic Sports that the former champion has been promised an opportunity to face Quigg in a title showdown on November 29, hence tomorrow’s tune-up fight means a lot to him despite the prospect of stepping into the ring against a mystery fighter on Saturday.
“Agbeko insisted he needed a warm-up fight because he had been relatively inactive for the last three years due in part to a managerial dispute with Don King which ended in a separation last year.
He reckons that he has been a bit rusty by his own high standards and, therefore, needs to be in top shape to stand a real chance of winning another world title against opponents who have been more active over the period,” Mr Noye said.
