YONNHY PEREZ DETHRONES JOSEPH AGBEKO

Yonnhy Perez W12 Joseph Agbeko... Undefeated Yonnhy Perez registered an upset unanimous decision over IBF bantamweight champion Joseph "King Kong' Agbeko in Las Vegas to capture a share of the world's 118-pound championship. The non-stop action fight between Perez (20-0, 14 KOs) of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., by way of Colombia, and Agbeko (27-2, 22 KOs) of Bronx, N.Y., via Accra, Ghana, was a spirited slugfest that featured numerous exchanges from start to finish.

During the telecast, announcer Steve Albert said, “in 22 years of calling boxing, I don't think I have ever called a fight with this many punches thrown.’’

Added color commentator Al Bernstein: “And many big shots. Both of these men are good punchers landing big."

Perez scored a disputed knockdown in the tenth round en route to winning by the scores of 117-110 twice and 116-111.

“The fight went almost exactly how I planned,’’ said an ecstatic Perez afterward. “I knew I was winning the rounds and I deserved to get the victory.  I trained to throw a lot of punches.  I know Agbeko likes to throw a lot of punches, so I knew I had to be better conditioned. 

“All the hard work and preparation paid off.  This is a dream come true.  (On the knockdown)  I don’t think he was in good shape.  I think he went down to catch his breath.  I felt I was more consistent, more active and I pressed the fight throughout.”

A clearly disappointed Agbeko said, “He head butted me in round 10.  I don’t think that was fair.  The (television) replay clearly shows what happened.  I was fighting well to that point.  I thought I was winning the fight.

“Perez seemed energized after being awarded the knockdown and I was never the same after his head hit mine. We will never know what would have happened had there not been a head butt.’’

Antonio DeMarco TKO 10 Jose Alfaro... In the first half of a Showtime doubleheader, Antonio DeMarco  won the WBC interim lightweight belt with a one-sided 10th-round TKO over Jose Alfaro. 
DeMarco (23-1-1, 17 KOs), of Tijuana, the son-in-law of former WBC 122-pound champion Raul “Jibaro’’ Perez, dominated Alfaro (23-5, 20 KOs). Afterward, he made no effort to mask his emotions. He fell to the mat and cried.
 

“It’s impossible to describe the feeling I have inside me right now,’’ said DeMarco, who dropped Alfaro three times in the tenth before the referee stepped in at 2:07. “My lifelong dream was to become the [a] world champion.

“This is the second happiest day of my life.  Only the birth of my daughter comes first.  I was a little surprised the referee let the fight go.  At one point he (Alfaro) turned around and I knew (at that point) it was only a matter of time.

“For everyone who supported me and helped me when I had nothing, I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”

Said Alfaro, “He used his jab and distance better than I did tonight.  That was the difference that I could not overcome.  I couldn’t land my punches.  I wanted to press him with my right hand.  I got a couple of them in, but obviously not enough.”

source for both results: showtime championship boxing