Luis Perez of Nicaragua, in the first defense of his International Boxing Federation bantamweight crown, will face No. 15 challenger Joseph Agbeko on Saturday.
Agbeko (24-1, 21 KOs) has won only minor titles, but his lone loss was to an undefeated opponent in 2004. Also, his given middle name at birth, which he says forced him to use his fists at a young age, is "King Kong."
P?rez (25-1, 16 KOs) has a reputation as a no-nonsense brawler among the sport's little men, first as the IBF's junior-bantamweight champion through three defenses at 115 pounds and now as the 118-pound king.
Earlier Thursday, P?rez didn't smile once when asked about either the details of his bantamweight title victory or what he anticipated from Agbeko.
How P?rez won the then-vacated 118-pound belt in a matchup of leading contenders last July at Bridgeport, Conn., is certainly noteworthy. Because of vicious body blows P?rez absorbed in stopping Genaro Garcia (35-6, 20 KOs) of Mexico in the seventh-round, the new champ was taken to a hospital for observation.
If the pain was intense enough to go to a hospital, how was P?rez able to persevere?
"I wasn't thinking about it. I was only concentrating on the fight," he said through an interpreter. "Nothing was seriously wrong. Garcia was just very strong."
What does P?rez think of Agbeko?
"I don't know much about him. I've never seen him fight," he said.
No films?
"We tried to get some but never did," P?rez replied with a shrug. "It doesn't matter. I'll find out enough about him in the ring."
Agbeko, conversely, does have a scouting report on P?rez.
"He's left-handed, and that can be a problem for some fighters, but not for me," said Agbeko, who fought last month. "Sometimes I switch off and fight left-handed, too. We have some tricks for him. I can promise a tough fight and I expect to come out as champion."
