Joseph Agbeko goes into his world title fight this weekend against Guillermo Rigondeaux as a hefty underdog. And when we asked the former bantamweight world champ how that suited him, he offered a big smile.
“After a long time this is my first time being an underdog. I feel relief, less pressure,” Agbeko offered.
While it may be less pressure for him, considering few believe he is going to emerge triumphant Saturday night, that doesn’t change the fact that he will be standing across the ring from one of the most talented fighters to be found in any weight class. When we last saw Guillermo Rigondeaux compete, he was simply outclassing the highly rated Nonito Donaire back in April. If Agbeko wants the results to look any different, he will have to be at his all time best.
One of the knocks on the fighter from Ghana going into this fight has been his relative inactivity over the past couple years. This will just be his second fight in the past two years. However, that doesn’t mean he should be easily dismissed. Given his toughness, which was on clear display in his last fight with Abner Mares where he was repeatedly the victim of low blows, Agbeko is not going to lay down for anyone.
Additionally, though his talent is immense, it isn’t as if Rigondeaux has not gone out and laid an egg from time to time. You need to look no further than his split decision win to Ricardo Cordoba for evidence of that.
