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World's Top
Bantamweights Take To The Big Stage In Single Elimination
Tournament On SHOWTIME
Two Semi-Final Bouts Set For Saturday, Dec. 11
Live on SHOWTIME® From Leon, Mexico
SHOWTIME Sports officially announced today a series of
high-profile fights amongst four of the world’s elite
fighters in the exciting and deep bantamweight division. The
two-round, single-elimination tournament to determine the
best fighter at 118 pounds will begin with two semifinal
bouts on Saturday, Dec. 11, live on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/PT
(delayed on the west coast) from Leon, Mexico.
The talented and willing field comprises unbeaten
International Boxing Federation (IBF) 118-pound champion
Yonnhy “El Colombiano” Perez, undefeated, world-ranked
rising star Abner Mares, former IBF bantamweight champion
Joseph “King Kong’’ Agbeko, and two-division world champion
Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan.
Each bout will be scheduled for 12 rounds. The winners of
each semifinal will clash in the final in 2011 with the
losing fighters competing in a consolation fight.
“Meaningful match-ups with high stakes in boxing’s most
competitive divisions—that’s our promise to boxing fans,”
said SHOWTIME Sports Executive Vice President and General
Manager Ken Hershman. “I hold these four world championship
competitors in the highest regard for taking the fights that
the fans want to see; for risking their status as one of the
world’s best, to prove they are the sole champion in the
division. When you consistently fight and defeat the best,
you deserve to be recognized as such.”
The bantamweight tournament is promoted by Gary Shaw
Productions for Darchinyan and, in association with Thompson
Boxing Promotions, for Perez, Golden Boy Promotions for
Mares, and Don King Productions for Agbeko. The venue in
Leon, Mexico for the Dec. 11 telecast is to be announced.
The semifinal matchups are as follows:
IBF Bantamweight World Championship
Yonnhy Perez vs. Joseph Agbeko
20-0-1, 14 KOs - 27-2, 22 KOs
Santa Fe Springs, Calif. - Bronx, New York
By way of Colombia - By way of Ghana
Abner Mares vs. Vic Darchinyan
20-0-1, 13 KOs - 35-2-1, 27 KOs
Montebello, Calif. - Sydney, Australia
By way of Guadalajara, Mexico - By way of Armenia
Each of the participants in the bantamweight tournament has
previously fought at least one of the other fighters in
competitive bouts, all on SHOWTIME.
Perez unanimously outpointed then-defending champion Agbeko
to capture the IBF belt on Oct. 31, 2009, and retained it
with a disputed majority draw over Mares last May 22. Agbeko,
in his outing before getting dethroned by Perez, retained
the same title with a close, unanimous decision over
Darchinyan on July 7, 2009.
The beauty of a tournament is that rankings and past
performances can be dismissed once it begins. Each boxer
starts with the same chance to make, and win, the final.
The humble, hard-working, 5-foot-11, 31-year-old Perez is
looking at the tournament as a chance to continue to stamp
himself as perhaps the premier bantamweight boxer on the
planet.
“I'm excited to be included in the 118-pound tournament that
SHOWTIME has put together,” said Perez, who held onto his
belt by the narrowest of margins (114-114 twice and 113-115)
against Mares.
“SHOWTIME has helped me reveal my ability to the world and
I'm honored they will televise my next two fights. I knew
the instant I earned my IBF bantamweight championship title
that it would open a lot of doors for me. This is the first
of many opportunities. I am going to get through this
tournament as the reigning champion.”
The gifted, handsome Mares, who showed his class with a
highly proficient performance against Perez, doesn’t
anticipate any dull moments in the ring once the first
tournament bell rings.
“Boxing fans know that the little guys always make for the
best fights and this tournament is guaranteed to prove that
again,” said the personable 5-foot-5, 25-year-old Mares.
“This is a great opportunity for all of us to prove
ourselves in the spotlight and I am excited that this fight
will take place in Mexico with all of the support of my
people for the first time in my career.
“Of course, I am also grateful and looking forward to having
a rematch with Yonnhy in the final. I felt I did enough in
our first fight to win a unanimous decision. I know if I do
my best again, I’ll come away with the IBF belt.”
The 5-foot-5 ½-inch, 30-year-old Agbeko hasn’t fought since
falling short against Perez in Oct. 2009, but feels he is
ready to step in and re-establish himself as the man to beat
at 118 pounds.
"I’ve always said, and believed in my heart, that I am the
best bantamweight in the world," Agbeko said. "Now it is
time to prove it once and for all.
“I’m beyond happy and excited that SHOWTIME is doing a
tournament in this weight class. This truly is an
opportunity that I never expected, and I am going to take
full advantage of it. It is my destiny to win it all.”
Darchinyan is by far the most experienced boxer in the
foursome and has participated in more than twice as many
world title fights (14) as the others have combined. He is
as confident as always.
“I think that this is a beautiful thing that SHOWTIME is
doing, but it isn't a bantamweight tournament, it's The
Darchinyan Tournament,” said the 5-foot-5½-inch, 34-year-old
Darchinyan, a former world champion at 112 and 115 pounds
who’ll be making his 12th appearance on SHOWTIME. “Everyone
who faces me will feel my power and be a loser.
"I owe Agbeko because he got away with one last time. But it
doesn’t matter who I fight. Even the winner in the other
bracket will be a loser because he will eventually have to
face me and lose."
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