Moments ago, Abner Mares became the first homegrown Golden Boy Promotions fighter to win a world championship, defeating former IBF champion Joseph Agbeko via unanimous decision in a tainted finale of Showtime's Bantamweight Tournament at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The younger Mares used his more accurate punching early in the fight to consistently beat Agbeko to the punch. Throughout the fight, however, Mares continued to land several low blows that the referee either ignored and simply just gave warnings for. As the fight progressed, Agbeko was clearly coming on strong against a tiring Mares. In the 11th round, Mares landed another obvious low blow that hurt Agbeko, causing him to fall to the canvas, at which point, the referee scored it a knockdown. In the end, Mares would win a majority decision, but the victory will no doubt be bitter sweet given the controversy. Relive all the action in FightHype's round-by-round results.
ROUND 1
Mares comes out firing his jab. Agbeko gets in a jab to the body. Mares answers with one of his own. Left hook lands upstairs for Agbeko. Another nice left to the body lands for Mares. 1-2 lands for Mares. Agbeko lands his left to the body. Quick jab landed by both men. Tit for tat so far. Double hook upstairs lands for Agbeko. Mares lands a double left hook to the body. Right hand upstairs lands for Mares. Low blow lands for Mares and the ref gives him a quick warning. Nice left hook lands for Agbeko, but Mares lands a better right. Agbeko misses with a wild left hook and Mares gets in a left uppercut that drops Agbeko. Wow. He's up and takes the count. HARD 1-2 lands for Mares. Right hand lands for Mares. Round to Mares.
Mares 10 Agbeko 8
ROUND 2
Agbeko lands a right and dips away. Left hook lands for Agbeko. Short right and a left hook lands for Mares. They trade left hooks upstairs. Agbeko lands another left hook. A couple of low blows land for Mares. Another one. Geesh. Right hand lands for Mares. Agbeko lands another left hook. Mares gets in an uppercut. Nice right hand lands for Mares. Agbeko gets in a right of his own. They trade jabs. STIFF jab lands for Agbeko. Another jab lands for Agbeko. Right and a left hook lands for Agbeko. Mares lands another shot south of the border. Left hook lands for Agbeko to end the round. Round to Agbeko.
Mares 19 Agbeko 18
ROUND 3
Agbeko gets in a jab to the body. 1-2 to the body lands for Mares. Agbeko lands a looping left hook. Another low blow lands for Mares and the ref just ignores it. Nice uppercut lands for Agbeko. They trade left hooks. They trade to the body. Both men banging to the body again. Left hook to the body lands for Mares. Overhand right lands for Mares. Right cross lands for Mares. Jab to the body lands for Agbeko. Round to Mares.
Mares 29 Agbeko 27
ROUND 4
They trade jabs. Left hook to the body lands for Mares. Stiff jab from Agbeko snaps the head back of Mares. Left hook lands for Agbeko. Another. Mares falling short with his jab. Left hook upstairs lands for Mares. Left hook downstairs lands for Mares. Agbeko gets in a jab. WOOOOOOOO....HARD right hand lands for Agbeko and Mares buckles. Wow. That shot buckled Mares, but he's fighting through it. Jab lands for Agbeko. Another. Left hook lands for Mares. Another low blow lands for Mares. Uppercut lands for Agbeko. Round to Agbeko.
Mares 38 Agbeko 37
ROUND 5
This ref is terrible with calling these low blows. Just horrible. Another low blow lands for Mares. Agbeko gets in a left hook upstairs. They trade to the body. They trade left hooks. Right hand lands for Agbeko. Mares gets in a nice left hook. They trade jabs. Agbeko gets in an uppercut. Looping right and a jab lands for Mares. Agbeko gets in his right. Left hook lands for Agbeko, but he eats a bigger right from Mares. A couple more low blows land for Mares and the ref gives him another warning. Right hand lands for Agbeko. Mares digs to the body. Close round, but I give it to Mares for landing the bigger shots.
Mares 48 Agbeko 46
ROUND 6
Stiff jab lands for Agbeko. Mares lands a right. 1-2 lands for Agbeko. Short right lands for Agbeko, but he eats a right in return from Mares. Another right hand lands for Mares. 1-2 lands for Agbeko. Mares lands another right. Left hook lands for Agbeko. They clash heads. They trade jabs. Right hand lands for Agbeko. They clash heads again and Mares is cut. They trade hooks. Another low blow lands for Mares. Jab to the body lands for Agbeko. The ref warns Mares again to keep his shots up. Another low blow lands for Mares. Geesh...when is this guy going to take a point. Close round, but again, I give it to Mares.
Mares 58 Agbeko 55
ROUND 7
1-2 lands for Mares. Overhand right lands for Mares, but he eats a left hook from Agbeko. Another left lands for Mares. Agbeko gets in a nice left hook that backs Mares up. Right hand lands for Agbeko. Mares sneaks in a left. They trade jabs. HARD right hand down the middle lands for Agbeko. Mares gets in an uppercut. Right hand lands for Agbeko, but he eats a left. Another borderline low blow lands for Mares. Double jab lands for Agbeko. They trade on the inside. Round to Mares.
Mares 68 Agbeko 64
ROUND 8
Jab lands for Agbeko. Uppercut lands for Mares. Overhand right lands for Mares. Nice right hand from Agbeko backs Mares up. Borderline low blow lands for Mares and he gets another warning from the ref. Nice 1-2 lands for Mares. Agbeko lands a nice right of his own. Woooooo...another nice right hand lands for Agbeko. Mares backs up. 1-2 to the body lands for Mares. Left hook lands for Agbeko. Jab from Agbeko snaps the head back of Mares. Mares doing a lot of retreating now. Another jab and a right hand lands for Agbeko. Mares gets in a right. Round to Agbeko.
Mares 77 Agbeko 74
ROUND 9
Agbeko lands a couple of hooks and a right upstairs. Mares digs to the body. Agbeko lands a 1-2 to the body. They trade jabs. They trade on the inside. Left to the body lands for Agbeko. Right hand followed by a left lands for Agbeko. Mares flurries to the body. HARD right to the body lands for Agbeko. Woooooooo...nice overhand right lands for Agbeko again. Stiff jab lands for Agbeko. Mares flurries to the body. Left hook lands for Mares. Round to Agbeko.
Mares 86 Agbeko 84
ROUND 10
Jab lands for Agbeko. Mares lands a right, but he eats an uppercut. 1-2 lands for Agbeko. Double jab lands for Agbeko. HARD right hand down the middle lands for Agbeko again. Right to the body lands for Agbeko. A couple of uppercuts land for Agbeko. Mares flurries to the body. Another uppercut lands for Agbeko. Stiff jab lands for Agbeko followed by a right. Another jab ladns for Agbeko. Mares starting to miss a lot....perhaps getting tired. HARD low blow lands for Mares and Agbeko is hurt. WOOOOOOW...the ref doesn't take a point. UNBELIEVABLE! Is he employed by Golden Boy? WOW! This guy should never ref again. They trade left hooks. Left hook lands for Agbeko. Mares flurries at the end. Round to Agbeko.
Mares 95 Agbeko 94
ROUND 11
Jab lands for Agbeko. Nice right hand lands for Agbeko. Mares lands another low blow. He's getting sloppy. Mares gets in a left hook. Nice right lands for Agbeko. Both men trading. Agbeko gets in a couple of rights. Mares getting tired, but still throwing. Both men trading. Nice uppercut lands for Agbeko. Jab lands for Agbeko. They trade on the inside again. Nice left to the body lands for Mares. Another low blow lands for Mares and Agbeko goes down. WOOOOOOOOOOOOW. The ref called it a low blow. WOW! UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!! This fight has been tainted by a HORRIBLE referee. Both men continue to trade. Left hook lands for Agbeko. "This is the most disgraceful performance of a referee that I've seen in the past 15 years," says Al Bernstein. Round won by Agbeko in my opinion, but he loses a point for the called knockdown.
Mares 104 Agbeko 103
ROUND 12
Mares lands a right. Short right lands for Agbeko. Mares on his bike. Jab lands for Agbeko. They trade along the ropes. Left hook lands for Agbeko. Mares still on his bike. Jab lands for Agbeko. Nice 1-2 to the body lands for Agbeko. Mares lands a left and an uppercut. Left hook lands for Agbeko. They trade jabs. Right hand lands for Agbeko. Uppercut lands for Agbeko. Round to Agbeko.
Mares 113 Agbeko 113
Official judges scorecards: 113-113, 115-111, 115-111
THE WINNER BY MAJORITY DECISION...AND NEW IBF BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD...ABNER MARES
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