Joseph “King Kong” Agbeko described Guillermo Rigondeaux as the most technical fighter he has faced in his career so far.
In December 2013, the Ghanaian Agbeko, now 44, lost a 12-round decision to a talented Cuban boxer in a WBO junior featherweight title fight in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Agbeko (38-5, 28 KOs) said he believes Rigondeaux proved he is an elite fighter in this matchup, even though he wasn’t in the best mental state when he faced the legendary Cuban.
“I can say that Guillermo Rigondeaux was (my best opponent) even though I had something hanging around my neck and couldn’t give it my all,” Agbeko told Boxing Scene in an interview. “He was the most technical boxer I’ve ever fought.
“I worked with promoters who always matched their boxers against their own fighters before they stepped in the ring, so Don King was always my opponent before the fight.”
Agbeko had a successful career, having held the IBF bantamweight championship twice between 2007 and 2010. He successfully defended the belt twice before losing to Colombian Yonghi Pérez in October 2009. He regained the title a year later, only to suffer two consecutive losses to Abner Mares eight months later, bringing an end to his reign as world champion.
At the height of his power, Agbeko missed out on a chance to fight Nonito Donaire (42-8, 28 KOs), a four-division world champion who Agbeko hailed as one of the best things to happen to the bantamweight division.
“I missed out on the opportunity to fight a lot of boxers. Nonito Donaire was around before I stopped boxing. He was around before I stopped boxing, and I had a chance to be one of the top four bantamweights in the world. There was a Showtime Super 4 tournament with all the best bantamweights available at the time, and I participated in that.”
“It’s his dedication,” he says of Donaire. “He’s dedicated himself to the sport. He pushes himself and still has that passion that’s at the core of boxing. As long as his mind doesn’t give up, he’s always going to achieve something. It’s amazing, but he’s a great guy. He’s a top class guy.”
Agbeko has had many great moments during his 22-year professional career that began in Accra, Ghana. When asked about his best memory as a fighter, he cited his dominant win over Nicaragua’s Luis Alberto Lopez in 2007 to become Ghana’s fifth world champion.
“It was like a dream come true,” he said. “It was one of the best moments for me. And then I lost and then I won again. Those are two memories I’ll never forget.”
As for his best performance, Agbeko said, “It’s hard to say. Maybe Yonghi Perez’s win, but I have to say no. Really (I can’t say) it was my match against Vic Darchinyan.” It was a tough night, but a beautiful night for me. “I had to be on edge that night to win the game and I think I put in a lot of effort to win. It was a very tough night for me. So, like any other night, I can’t say this was my best night or that was my best night.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist specialising in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column called “From The Ringside” for many years in his native Ghana. He can be reached at @BernardNeequaye on X (formerly Twitter), Bernard Neequaye on LinkedIn and bernardneequaye@gmail.com.