number1contender.net

Versus Fight Night Live Recap

December 11, 2008

Prudential Center-Newark, New Jersey

1. IBF Bantamweight (118 pounds) 12-Round Championship Match:

Joseph Agbeko (25-1, 22 KO's, 118 pounds) (c) vs. William Gonzalez (21-2, 19 KO's, 117 pounds)

Agbeko won this title in his last match, a huge upset of Luis Perez on September 29, 2007 at Arco Arena in Sacramento, California. The resident of the Bronx, New York came into the match having faced a slew of weak opposition. Entering the match, Agbeko had 11 of his 24 wins against boxers making their professional debuts and another 6 wins against boxers who had never won a match. Agbeko had become Perez' mandatory challenger by defeating a total of 6 opponents with 3 or more victories. Perez had beaten some very good opposition and Agbeko was supposed to be knocked out in highlight reel fashion to make Perez more marketable. However, Agbeko dominated the match. Eventually, the doctor was forced to stop the match after round 7 saying of Perez that, "neurologically he was deteriorating". The original recap of that match can be found here: http://www.number1contender.net/the-latest/2008/12/15/recap-of-joseph-agbeko-vs-luis-perez.html Agbeko is making his first defense of this title.

The champion has been inactive for such a long time due to illness and repeated injuries. Agbeko has postponed this mandatory defense 4-times. The last postponement was due to Agbeko catching malaria when he traveled back to his native Ghana for treatment on one of his numerous injuries.

Agbeko is The Ring's number 6 contender to their vacant championship at 118 pounds.

Gonzalez primarily boxes in Panama, Costa Rica and his home country of Nicaragua. This is his second match in the United States. The other is where he picked up 1 of his 2 losses. On September 1, 2005, Gonzalez was knocked out according to boxrec.com at 3:07 of round 3 by the very good Jhonny Gonzalez in a match for the WBO NABO belt at 118 pounds at the Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson, Arizona.

William Gonzalez' last match was a knockout victory at 56 seconds of round 1 over Arturo Valenzuela on January 25, 2008 at the Casino Pharaohs in Managua, Nicaragua. Gonzalez has been Agbeko's mandatory contender for the last 11 months and forced into inactivity waiting for the champion to get healthy.

Gonzalez is unranked by The Ring and the number 30 ranked boxer in the world at 118 pounds by boxrec.com.

At 27-years-old, Gonzalez is 1 year younger then the 28-year-old Agbeko. Gonzalez has the height advantage standing 5' 8" tall, while Agbeko stands 5' 6" tall. The challenger has the reach advantage with a 72" wingspan, compared to the 67" wingspan of the champion. No unofficial weights approaching match time are given, but the IBF requires boxers to weigh-in again within 10 pounds of their official weigh-in weights on the day of the match. That means both boxers should be roughly the same size entering the ring. However, Gonzalez should be the slightly heavier boxer in the ring. Both boxers are naturally left-handed. However, only Gonzalez will employ the southpaw stance. Agbeko will box out of the orthodox stance.

New Jersey's uses a modified version of the unified rules of boxing where both the referee and doctor can stop the match. Also, New Jersey gives the warning clap that the round will end with 5 seconds to go in the round instead of the usual 10 seconds. This is supposed to allow the referee to better position himself to break the action at the end of the round. However, a lot of times it messes up the boxers' timing and they end up throwing punches past the bell. The home areas of the official judges keeping score of this match from ringside are not announced. The referee is Earl Brown.

With 48 seconds to go in round 1, Gonzalez lands a hard left uppercut to Agbeko's groin. The referee is asking for time for Agbeko to recover. The referee gives Gonzalez a light warning when the clock is finally stopped with 40 seconds to go in the round. It appears the referee was shielded from seeing the true ferocity of that foul. The referee rushed Agbeko and the boxer probably did not take 30 seconds to recover from the low blow. Agbeko wins a very good round 1, 10-9. Gonzalez was bleeding in the corner after round 1. The cut was caused by an unintentional clash of heads. Gonzalez' corner got the cut stopped before round 2, though. During the break between rounds 1 and 2 the referee warned both boxers for leading with their heads. It appears this match is going to require a lot of work from the referee. Round 2 is very hard to score. This match is becoming an exciting brawl with both boxers deciding to trade punches and not bothering to do much defensively. Gonzalez may win round 2, 10-9. Round 3 is another very difficult round to score. Very close to even, but Agbeko finished the round stronger to maybe take it, 10-9. Through 3 rounds, Agbeko leads on my scorecard, 29-28.

Agbeko wins round 4, 10-9. The boxers have continued to trade power punches the entire match. However, Agbeko appears to be landing the more powerful punches, now. At the end of round 4, Gonzalez was cut badly over his left eye. It was caused by a headbutt. That cut may effect Gonzalez' vision and be a problem for him for the rest of the match. Agbeko wins a close round 5, 10-9. Gonzalez kept throwing punches after the bell to end round 6 and 1 of those punches caught Agbeko low. Agbeko goes staggering off to his corner and can barely sit down. Apparently, he did not think to walk it off. On replay it is clear, Gonzalez delivered apowerful left hook to Agbeko's package at the bell. The boxer may deserve more time to recover during the intermission. Gonzalez may have won the very close round 6, 10-9. This is one of the most difficult to score matches that has been recapped in a long time. Agbeko leads on my scorecard after 6 rounds, 58-56.

The referee let Agbeko know that he knew the boxer was hit low during the break between rounds 6 and 7. However, Agbeko was not given an extended recovery period. The referee also warned both boxers again for leading with their heads during that intermission. There are numerous severe headbutts every round. However, the referee cannot take a point for it, because both boxers are responsible. Agbeko wins round 7, 10-9. The champion wins round 8, 10-9. Agbeko has started showing much better head movement the last few rounds, which has helped him take over the match. Entering round 9, Gonzalez has 3 cuts on his face. All were caused by headbutts, but none seem to be effecting his vision. Gonzalez' corner has been doing an amazing job keeping those cuts from getting worse. Round 9 is the closest round in a while. Agbeko may have won round 9, 10-9. After 9 rounds, Agbeko leads on my scorecard, 88-83.

Good round 10 for Gonzalez and he takes it, 10-9. Gonzalez wins round 11, 10-9. The challenger is changing the tide of this match by throwing his jab and going to the body of Agbeko. In the early rounds of this match, Gonzalez had been primarily throwing power shots at Agbeko's head. Agbeko has been slow to react to Gonzalez' new strategy and the body punches have seemed to do the most damage to Agbeko. Agbeko's trainer has been rubbing the champion's legs between rounds to try to increase the blood flow into them, because his movement has been noticeably slowed the last few rounds. Agbeko lands several good straight right hands to win round 12, 10-9. The champion wins the match on my scorecard, 116-112.

The final decision courtesy of "Gentleman" Joe Antonacci is that the judges have scored this match: 114-114, even, that is overruled by the scores of 116-112 and 116-112 both for the winner by majority decision and still IBF Bantamweight Champion of the World, Joseph King Kong Agbeko. The win moves Agbeko to 26-1 with 22 wins coming by way of knockout.

The final CompuBox numbers have Agbeko landing 287 of the 815 total punches he threw, for a 35% total connect percentage. Gonzalez landed 299 of the 915 total punches he threw, for a 33% total connect percentage.

Agbeko was very good against a seemingly very good opponent in this match. Following this match, The Ring moved Agbeko up 1 spot in their rankings to be their number 5 contender at 122 pounds. However, his defense is still abysmal. The biggest money match for him would seem to be a rematch with Gonzalez.

Gonzalez was very good in this match, also. The Ring made Gonzalez their number 10 contender at 122 pounds following this match. Gonzalez probably could have won if he had used a better strategy in this match. It would make sense for him to do an immediate rematch of this match. Showtime would probably be interested in the rematch. However, those cuts are going to have Gonzalez suspended for months.

2. The Ring/IBF Cruiserweight (200 pounds) 12-Round Championship Match:

Steve Cunningham (21-1, 11 KO's, 197 pounds) (c) vs. Tomasz Adamek (35-1, 24 KO's, 198 pounds)

The Ring Championship is currently vacant. A vacant Ring Championship can only be filled by a match between The Ring's number 1 contender in the weight class and its number 2 or 3 contender in the weight class. The previous champion was David Haye, who vacated the title to move to heavyweight.

Cunningham took the IBF title from Krzysztof Wlodarczyk via 12-round majority decision on May 26, 2007 at Spodek in Katowice, Poland. That was an immediate rematch of a controversial 12-round split decision Cunningham had lost to Wlodzarczyk on November 25, 2006 at Towar Sport Hall in Warsaw, Poland. Cunningham is making his second defense of this title.

Cunningham began his amateur career as part of the United States Navy's boxing team. He went on to become the Navy's top boxer at 178 pounds. The highlight of Cunningham's amateur career was when he captured the 1998 National Golden Gloves Championship at 178 pounds.

The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native is a natural 200-pounder. All of his matches have been at this weight class. Cunningham has been somewhat critical of other boxers that have used the 200-pound weight class as a stepping-stone to the heavyweight class.

Cunningham's last match was a technical knockout over the then undefeated Marco Huck at 1:56 of round 12 on December 29, 2007 at Seidensticker Halle in Germany.

Cunningham is The Ring's number 1 contender to their vacant championship at 200 pounds.

Adamek boxed the majority of his early career at 175 pounds. He won a title at 175 pounds, before losing the belt in a wide 12-round unanimous decision to Chad Dawson on February 3, 2007 at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida. Following the loss, Adamek said that he was drained byan extreme weight cut to make 175 pounds and could no longer be effective at that weight class.

On June 9, 2007, Adamek had gained 23.75 pounds to challenge for a fringe 200-pound title. That night, Adamek Luis Andres Pineda via technical knockout in round 7 at Spodek in his native Poland.

Adamek's last match was technical knockout when Gomez failed to answer the bell to start round 7 on July 11, 2008 at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois.

Adamek is The Ring's number 2 contender at 200 pounds.

Both boxers are 32-years-old. Cunningham has the height advantage standing 6' 3" tall, while Adamek stands 6' 1.5" tall. The American has a huge reach advantage with a 82" wingspan compared to the 75" wingspan of Adamek. Neither boxers unofficial weight approaching match time is available. However, both boxers are naturally 200 pounds and should be roughly the same weight in the ring. Both boxers will employ the orthodox stance.

The huge Polish-American population in the area have made Adamek the vocal crowd favorite. Cunningham, the American champion, is being vociferously booed versus a foreigner that was born behind the Iron Curtain. WWE and TNA might want to pay attention to this. The hostility of this crowd toward the American is incredible. There are horns blowing and chants for Adamek. Fans are painted in red and white, the color of the Polish flag, and wearing silly soccer hats. The flags and scarfs that people would wear to watch the Polish national soccer team are everywhere in the arena. Apparently, the Prudential Center was silently annexed by Poland for tonight.

The home areas of the judges keeping official score of this match from ringside are not announced. The referee is Earl Morton.

Very close round 1 that Cunningham barely wins, 10-9. This crowd is still being very loud cheering on the Pole. This match has a rare big match feel for a Versus event. Adamek lands a left hook that sends Cunningham to the ground with less then 1 second to go in round 2. The bell rang to end the round as Cunningham was on his way down, but had yet to hit the canvas. That is the second time Cunningham has been knocked down in his pro career. Versus went to a commercial while the referee was counting! However, Cunningham had already made his feet at what appeared to be the count of 4 and should be able to continue. Round 2 goes to Adamek, 10-8. This is a great match. The crowd is going insane. The noise in the Prudential Center could be confused with that of a soccer stadium in Poland. In round 3, Cunningham lands more punches to take the round, 10-9. After 3 rounds the match is even on my scorecard, 28-28.

Cunningham was dominating Adamek in round 4 and had the Pole badly hurt in round 4. The American was on the way to taking the round huge and without a knockdown was probably going to win it, 10-8. However, Adamek landed a right hand out of nowhere to drop Cunningham to the mat with 29 seconds to go in round 4. This caused the Polish-American crowd to start losing their minds screaming at the sudden change in momentum. Cunningham successfully answers the referees count to continue with 17 seconds to go in the round. However, Cunningham is still pretty shaky and may not make it out of this round. Round 4 is probably the second best round of the year, behind round 1 of Kendall Holt vs. Ricardo Torres II. Adamek was dominated for so much of round 4, that despite scoring the knockdown he only wins round 4, 10-9. This match is great and a must watch on replay. The announcers are starting to loose their voices screaming in excitement at what a great night of boxing this has been. Adamek may have won a great round 5, 10-9. This match transcends scorecards, because neither boxer deserves to lose this match. This is starting to rival Israel Vazquez vs. Rafael Marquez III. Round 6 is a slower round that Cunningham wins, 10-9. This crowd is so great that even relatively slow rounds seem amazing. After 6 rounds, Adamek leads on my scorecard, 57-56.

Cunningham wins round 7 solidly, 10-9. The American appeared to hit Adamek with some heavy power shots in round 7, but the Pole no sold all of the hard punches to his faces. In round 8, Adamek had Cunningham badly hurt with a left hand. Adamek followed up dropping the American to the canvas with a right hand with 56 seconds to go in round 8. A frustrated Cunningham bounces right back up off the ground and easily answers the referees 8-count with 46 seconds to go in the round. Cunningham looks at his wife in the crowd and goes back into action. Adamek is unable to finish the badly hurt Cunningham in round 8. That is despite the fact the American tried to slug out the final seconds of the round with the stronger Adamek. Adamek wins round 8 big, 10-8. Round 9 is very close and Cunningham may have won it by being busier, 10-9. After 9 rounds, Adamek leads on my scorecard, 85-84.

Cunningham takes round 10, 10-9. To start round 11, there is some swelling around the left eye of Adamek. The swelling is from Cunningham landing repeated hard right hands to the area. Cunningham wins round 11, 10-9. Adamek appears to be running out of gas and that is allowing Cunningham to win the last few rounds. Earlier, Adamek was coming forward and cutting off the ring on Cunningham. That was negating Cunningham's reach advantage and turning the match into a slugfest that the Pole was winning. Now, the match is being contested at distance, where Cunningham can consistently land his left jab and straight right hand to win rounds. With 15 seconds to go the crowd, who had not been quiet the entire match, stood up as one and gave both boxers a standing ovation past the bell for a job well done. Cunningham wins round 12, 10-9. That gives Cunningham the match on my scorecard, 114-112.

It is taking a long time to add up the scorecards. The final decision from Joe Antonacci is that the judges have scored this match: 114-112 for Cunningham, 116-110 for Adamek, and 115-112 for the winner and now IBF and The Ring Cruiserweight Champion of the World, Tomasz "Goral" Adamek. The win moves Adamek to 36-1 with 24 wins coming by way of knockout.

The final CompuBox numbers have Adamek landing 186 of the 480 total punches he threw, for a 39% total connect percentage. Cunningham landed 205 of the 690 total punches he threw, for a 30% total connect percentage.

Adamek said in his post match interview that his promoter would decide on a rematch and that he may have a mandatory contender to face. (This is an approximation of what Adamek was saying. Adamek's English is not very good and he did not use a translator so part of this is a guess.)

Cunningham said in his post match interview that he wants a rematch. The American was booed during his interview, but mostly whistled at by this uniquely great crowd.

Adamek is now officially the best boxer in the world at 200 pounds. He showed some stamina problems at the end of the match, but otherwise he was great in this match. Adamek showed an apparently iron chin and that he can draw a lot of fans. A hypothetical match between Adamek and David Haye could be great. However, that match appears unlikely to happen for a while at least. It would be absurd for Adamek to not face Cunningham in an immediate rematch. It is unlikely there is a match available that could pay more then a rematch with Cunningham. This match was great and these 2 boxers seem perfectly matched for each other. Adamek should face Cunningham again in the spring.

Cunningham made some strategic mistakes in this match. The American should have boxed more instead of trying to slug it out with the stronger boxer. However, Cunningham too was great in this match. Cunningham should get an immediate rematch with Adamek to be held at this same venue. The result could be different next time, but the match should still be great.

This event should be replayed in the coming weeks and is a must watch. The Agbeko-Gonzalez match was very good. The Adamek-Cunningham match was 1 of the top 5 matches of the year. It is not the match of the year, because the work rate of the boxers fell off in the final few rounds, which is a small criticism of an excellent match. The crowd for this event was tremendous. Altogether, this was one of the best shows all year.

News and Notes: Sergio Medina who looked like he threw his match against Juan Manuel Lopez on the undercard of last week's De La Hoya-Pacquiao PPV, said after the match that he threw the match. Originally, the Argentine said that he threw the match, because of threats on his life. However, when he arrived in Argentina he changed his story. Medina now says he did not throw the match and is going to retire. Of course, that is the story the people who may be threatening his life in Argentina would have him say. The true story may never be known. However, that match looked really suspicious. As a guess, that match was a work and Medina got told to change his story when he got home. That match looked far too strange to be legit.

FSN is going to start airing title matches from around the world on tape delay once a month. The matches will air as part of "The Best Damn Sports Show Period". They are going to air the Carl Froch vs. Jean Pascal match from December 6 sometime this month. The exact date has not been announced. In January FSN will televise at least 1 of the matches on the January 10 card in Germany featuring Zsolt Erdei defending his 175-pound title against Yuri Barashian and Denis Inkin defending his 168-pound title against Karoly Balzsay.

Andre Berto is going to make a mandatory defense of his 147-pound title against Luis Collazo on January 17 on HBO. The event will be opened by Sergio Martinez defending his 154-pound title against Joe Greene. There is no official venue set for this event. However, DiBella Promotions that is organizing this event wants to run it in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Boxing has a hard time appealing to younger viewers. Its advertising may be part of that problem. On shows targeted to the key 18-34-year-old male demographic there will be ads for movies, video games and beer. Boxing broadcasts seem to only run commercials for Just for Men Hair Color and products to treat erectile dysfunction. For a guy in their 20's, being bombarded with those ads is insulting. It will make a viewer turn the channel. Similarly, whenperson in their 20's watches Wheel of Fortune and sees a lot of ads for AARP and products for seniors they realize the show is not targeted at them. Therefore, they will choose another show to watch. Viewers are not dumb. If networks put on ads during a program that a certain demographic would find demeaning, that demographic is not going to watch the show. Networks may be able to convince younger viewers to watch boxing if their ads do not assume that everyone watching is an impotent man with gray hair. However, as long as boxing viewers are assumed to be divorced men with gray hair and who suffer from "old man wang" that will be the only people who watch.

The next recap will cover the December 13 HBO event featuring Wladimir Klitschko defending his heavyweight titles against Hasim Rahman.

Sincerely,

Jereme Warneck

number1contender.net

Boxing and Video Game Correspondent for f4wonline.com

Hidden Valley Lake, CA

I can be reached for feedback and comments at ZurRoadie@aol.com or as JeremeW on XBOX Live. I read everything.