"King Kong" Fights Tonight

Abner Mares of Hawaiian Gardens and Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko of Ghana were supposed to tangle on April 23 in the Showtime bantamweight tournament finale, but Agbeko was hit with a sudden bout of sciatica and had to pull out just a couple of days before the fight. It was a bummer for Mares, who is still looking to win his first major championship.

Eleven months earlier - in May 2010 - Mares was bummed out when he didn't get the victory in a draw against then-bantamweight world champion Yonnhy Perez. A couple of years before that, Mares had surgery to repair a detached retina that could have ended his career in relative infancy.

Yes, he's been through the wringer. But that hasn't slowed his quest to win a major championship, and tonight he will be in the ring against Agbeko in the main event at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. At stake will be the Showtime tournament trophy as well as Agbeko's world title.

Mares, who trained in both Guadalajara and Santa Fe Springs for this fight, spoke recently about his journey, one he is hopeful will lead to him finally realizing his goal.

"As a fighter in my young career I've already been through so many ups and downs that maybe a veteran hasn't even gone through yet with my detached retina, with this fight being canceled and with me getting a draw in my first world title fight," the 25-year-old Mares said.

"But, you know, it only makes me stronger. It only motivates me more. Things happen for a reason." As much as Mares (21-0-1, 13 KOs) hated the bout being postponed without really knowing at the time it would be re-scheduled, the good guy in him was able to feel some sympathy for Agbeko (28-2, 22 KOs), who showed up at a news conference a couple of days after the postponement in obvious discomfort.

"I just felt bad," Mares said. "My parents always taught me not to feel sorry for the guy on the boxing side, but I generally felt bad on the human side. He just looked like an old guy limping with the cane. I thought, `Man, this could be the end of his career.'

"It was like me with my detached retina and when they told me my career could possibly be over. Plus, I have some family members who have had the same (sciatica) injury and they told me it was really painful, so I just felt bad for Agbeko."

The way it happened was bizarre. Agbeko had been on a six-hour flight from New York City - where he now lives in the Bronx - and he collapsed sometime after getting off the plane at LAX the night of April 18, announcing he was pulling out a couple of days later. The bout was slated to take place at Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live.

"It doesn't happen every day, but the people at the hospital knew because they are so close to the airport," Agbeko said. "It does happen to people sitting on a plane for a long time."

Agbeko, 31, has proclaimed himself 100 percent, like he anticipated.

"I was never afraid that I would not fight again," he said. "I was surprised a thing like this could happen to me, but I knew in my heart that my career was not going to end this way. I mostly felt very bad that our first fight could not come off as scheduled.

"I have trained for nine weeks and my camp was excellent. At no point did I feel weak, and now it is all behind me and I am focusing on Mares."

Mares is starving for his first world title. Agbeko, who regained his title from the aforementioned Perez in December, is hungry to protect what he has taken great pains to keep. The stars are aligned for a terrific bout, one that could mean a lot to the victor.

Even though Agbeko is champ, Mares is a slight favorite.

"I look at this as my hardest fight," said Mares, who defeated Vic Darchinyan in the first round of this four-fighter tournament. "But winning the IBF belt and the Showtime tourney on one night is something that can really set my career in motion.

"There are lots of opportunities for the winner."

The fighters have two common opponents. Mares has a draw against Perez and a split-decision over Darchinyan. Agbeko has a victory and a loss against Perez and a unanimous decision over Darchinyan.

From the sound of it, none of that is going to matter to an ultra-confident Agbeko.

"There is no way I am going to lose this fight," said Agbeko, who beat Perez in the first round of the tournament. "I don't watch a lot of tape of my future opponents and I have only seen a few rounds of Mares' fight against Yonnhy Perez. But I know he is a very fast, aggressive fighter with a big future in this sport.

"I have prepared for everything he brings. He may be the one running in this fight."

Not Mares. He'll be there.