On Saturday in Las Vegas Joseph “King Kong” Agbeko 27-1(22) will make the third defence of his IBF Bantamweight title against mandatory challenger Yonnhy Perez in the main event on Showtime. He won the crown back in 2007 when he beat Luis Alberto Perez for the title with an eye opening seventh round win. He didn’t fight then until the end of 2008 when as co feature to Adamek-Cunningham he retained his title in a barn burner against William Gonzalez. The big opportunity for Agbeko 29, came when he was matched with Vic Darchinyan back in July and though he was the underdog he showed tremendous grit and won a fan friendly decision. Here’s what Agbeko had to say from his suite in Treasure Island.
Hello Joseph, welcome to 15rounds.com
Anson Wainwright - Firstly you’ll be headlining a show in Las Vegas at Treasure Island against Yonnhy Perez. That looks a very interesting fight. How do you see it?
Joseph Agbeko - I feel very good, I feel happy. I feel happy to be in Vegas.
Anson Wainwright - How are you enjoying Las Vegas?
Joseph Agbeko - Yeah was good. The Boxing gym is very good here.
Anson Wainwright - How close to weigh are you now?
Joseph Agbeko - I’m already on my weight, maybe even below.
Anson Wainwright - There has been a lot of bad blood between you in the past week or so. What can you tell us about this?
Joseph Agbeko - Yonnhy is a good fighter, he’s a nice person. Nothing personal.
Anson Wainwright - How much has beating Vic Darchinyan helped improve your confidence?
Joseph Agbeko - Ohhh I was confident before Vic Darchinyan. I was confident I would beat him.
Anson Wainwright - The neighbourhood in Accra Ghana that has the reputation for Boxing is Bukum. Is that where you are from?
Joseph Agbeko - I grew up in a neighbourhood in the Volta region and i was part of the Ewe tribe it’s close to Bukom.
What can you tell us about it there and how it was growing up and how that path took you into Boxing?
Joseph Agbeko - Yeah was cool it was cool over there. That’s where we have all the boxing gyms. It was very good there.
Anson Wainwright - Since turning pro in 1998 you’ve not had an easy ride to the top and had to work very hard for what you have today. Fighting all over the world including Benin, South Africa, Germany, Britain & now America. What can you tell us about this journey?
Joseph Agbeko - Yeah, I’m always in condition with myself . I can say fighting the likes of Johannes Maisa, Cedric Conway, Wladimir Sidorenko, Luis Alberto Perez, , William Gonzalez & Vic Darchinyan. I have fought a couple of guys who are very very good fighters and been able to beat them. I believe I’m the best Bantamweight so far.
Anson Wainwright - Can you tell us abit about your team. Your manager, trainer, promoter and other people who help out?
Joseph Agbeko - Yeah I have Don King as my promoter he’s the main man pushing me high. I’m very very happy to be with Don King production company. I’m so happy. My trainer is Adama Addy and my manager is Vinny Scolpino. It’ a good team & everything is working good for us.
Anson Wainwright - You now live in The Bronx in New York how does that compare to Accra?
Joseph Agbeko - Ahhh living in the Bronx is like living in Ghana. I always feel at home because we have a laugh. I always feel comfortable. It’s like a home away from home.
Anson Wainwright - Finally do you have a message for your fans ahead of next weeks fight with Yonnhy Perez?
Joseph Agbeko - I want to thank everyone for there support and being there for me. I’ve trained very hard for this fight. I’m going to go in the ring on Saturday and win for them. So they can always be proud of me and I wont let them down.
Thanks for your time Joseph and good luck in your upcoming fight.
Source: 15rounds.com
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