Round by Round Blog: Joseph Agbeko vs Yonnhy Perez

Welcome to The Boxing Bulletin's live blog coverage of Showtime's bantamweight clash between Joseph Agbeko and Yonnhy Perez.

Round by round updates should start at approximately 10 PM EST, but check back in with us earlier in case Showtime's opening bout ends quikly.

Joseph Agbeko 27-1 (118) vs Yonnhy Perez 19-0 (118)

Refresh this page often as updates will be frequent 8:55 PM EST... Round by round coverage will start with the main-event. I'll post the occasional update of the DeMarco/Alfaro bout. 9:19... We're through 2 rounds of DeMarco vs Alfaro and DeMarco is in control. He's keeping Alfaro at range, and started to really unload with some hard power shots in the last minute of the 2nd. 9:31... Through 5, it's mostly all DeMarco. Occasionally Alfaro gets through with something, but it's a pretty one sided fight so far. 9:40... We're now in round 8. DeMarco firmly in control. 9:46... All 3 judges on press row have it 80-72 for DeMarco. Round 9 is winding down. 9:51... DeMarco puts Alfaro down 3 times in the 10th, and this one's over. 9:52... A big right hook started things off for DeMarco. It sent Alfaro almost through the ropes, and he never recovered. 9:54... Official time is 2:07 of the 10th round. 9:57... The official judges had it 90-81, 89-82 and 89-82. 10:00... Jim Gray is with a cheerful Mike Tyson and Don King. He just asked Mike if there's any chance of a comeback. Mike's answer..."I'm too fat." Don's got a big grin on his face. 10:05... Al Bernstein and Steve Albert are chatting about the Super Six. Hopefully we'll be seeing Agbeko and Perez shortly. 10:11... Yonnhy Perez is making his way in. 10:13... Here comes Agbeko. He's playing up the Halloween theme, as he follows a stunning blonde who I assume is supposed to be Ann Darrow to the ring, while wearing a King Kong mask. 10:16... Jimmy Lennon Jr. with the intros. The ref is Robert Byrd. 10:19... Final instructions are being given. We're moments away from starting. 10:22... Here we go. Both guys immediately begin trading in the middle of the ring. Agbeko's told to watch his head. Both guys unloading, although it's Agbeko's who's appearing to be winning these early exchanges. He's letting both his hands go, and going hard to the body. Al comments that it's not the best idea for Perez to lay on the inside with Agbeko. 1:30 to go. Action in the middle of the ring. Perez is standing in and firing back. He's landing some decent counters. Heavy leather being traded here. Agbeko is sticking the jab, and then firing hard shots, but Perez just landed a nice hard counter left hook. And he just landed another one. Some great action towards the end of what was a very good round. 10:23... That was a hell of a round. Impossible to give a blow by blow, as there was just so many clean shots landed. Just hard intense action. 10:27... Agbeko is pushing forward, but he's not backing Perez off. "The non-stop punching continues." - Steve Albert. Just some terrific exchanges here. Agbeko is pushing the action, but Perez is landing hard counters. None of them are backing Agbeko off though. It's just relentless stuff. Agbeko just ate another hard counter, but he just keeps pouring it on. 1:30 to go. Right now, I'd say Perez is landing the cleaner more precise stuff. Agbeko just landed a hard right hand on the button, but Perez took it without blinking. Agbeko with another hard right hand. Perez again took it very well. Perez is standing in and ripping counters in return. Perez with a hard right hand that Agbeko takes well. Both fighters just unloading. Al comments that he's never seen Perez' left hook look so good. Another good exchange before the bell. Through round 2, this is fantastic stuff. 10:27... Both these guys are showing very good chins, as they've traded bombs so far without showing much effect. 10:31... Round 3... Agbeko again comes forward trying to press the action. He just landed a nice hard combo, but Perez stands right in there on the inside and fires back. Now Agbeko with a hard left hook. Agbeko with a solid right. Agbeko having the better of things here early in round 3, but he eats a counter left hook. "Can these guys do this for 12 rounds?" - Albert. I can't imagine that they can. Somebody has to crack under this kind of heat. Agbeko just ate a hard right hand, and immediately fired back. Agbeko with a right hand. Agbeko just landed another really nice right hand that seemed to snap Perez' head back, but he took is well, and he's back throwing immediately. 50 seconds left in the round. Big left hand from Perez! And Agbeko immediately fires back. This is terrific stuff. Good body work as well. It's hard bruising action. "What I love about this fight is that technique has not gone out the window." - Al Bernstein. There's the bell. 10:34... Round 4 is underway. As usual it's Agbeko pressing forward and taking the lead, but with Perez standing right in and firing back. Press row has it 29-28 accross the board for Perez. Al agrees. No let up here in round 4. Both men standing in the middle of the ring and unloading on the inside. It's very much like Castillo/Corrales 1. Agbeko is using his jab a little more now. I think he'd be wise to slow things down a little. He's also jumping in with lead rights. The last minute has been fought at a quick pace, but not really the same quantity of power shots exchanged. Agbeko is now backing Perez up a little, but he's getting countered in the process. More heavy body shots exchanged. Both fighters going downstairs well. There's the bell. 10:38... Round 5. Action in the middle of the ring here to start the round. Now it's Perez pushing Agbeko back, and it's Agbeko responding with a hard right hand, as he gets off the ropes. Action back in the middle fo the ring. Agbeko banging the body in close, and he's warned to keep his shots up. He's trying to use some more head movement, rather than recklessly trading here. Now he comes forward, unloading as he backs Perez on the ropes. He landed a hard left hand during that sequence, which Perez as usual took very well. Perez came firing back as he quickly got off the ropes. Agbeko again drilling the body hard, and he's again warned by Robert Byrd to keep them up. Al says those were marginal and he hopes those warnings done stop Agbeko from going downstairs. He just landed a nice right hand. More good exchanges as the round ends. It might be my imagination but I think Perez is slowing down just a touch. 10:43... Al thinks Agbeko's body work was the difference in the 5th. Agbeko is sticking the jab here early in the 6th. He's landing it through Perez' guard. Perez is looking to counter with his left hook. Now Perez comes forward and bangs the body hard. Perez with a nice right hand. Action in the middle of the ring. Perez with a nice 1-2 combo. Perez with another combo. Perez with a hard right hand. A good sequence here from Yonnhy Perez. Agbeko keeps coming though. A hard exchange with both men getting through with power shots. Both using their jab here, and Perez landed a nice counter right. 45 seconds left in the round. More bruising stuff from both fighters. Agbeko with a nice upper-cut on the inside. Now he bangs the body with a hook. Agbeko pushes Perez back to the ropes, but Perez slips away back to the middle of the ring. There's the bell. 10:43... That was a solid round for Perez, although Agbeko came on strong at the end of the round. 10:46... Perez suffered a cut in the 6th due to an accidental clash of heads. Not sure how bad it is. Agbeko's started quickly here in the 7th. He's going hard here in the first minute, backing Perez up with some hard shots. Press row has it 58-56, 58-56 and 57-57 for Perez. Al has it 57-57. So far Agbeko is having a very good round. Perez is now standing his ground though firing back. "Amazing pace to this right." - Albert. Al thinks Perez's shots are lacking a bit of steam compared to the last round. Action in the middle of the ring as usual. No clinches in this one. Just a lot of hard exchanges. Al again mentions that Perez' shots aren't quite as sharp, that he's pushing a little with his punches. There's the bell for round 7. 10:47... We just saw a clip of Agbeko landing his head on Perez' jaw in the 7th. Maybe there's no holding in this one, but it's certainly not all clean. 10:51... Action in the middle of the ring here in round 8. The action is a little sloppier here in this round. Agbeko suddenly seemed bothered by something, and started backing up and Perez chased him. Now Agbeko fires back, but he's got his back along the ropes. Now he tries to hold on. Now Agbeko fires back with a right hand. "Just went you thought Perez was on the downslide, he comes back." - Al commenting on a good round so far from Perez. I'm having trouble keeping up with the blow by blow here. Some heavy exchanges in the middle of the ring, with Perez landing a hard right hand that was the best shot during that sequence. Now Agbeko comes back, pushing Perez into the ropes and unloading. "Unbelievable action." - Steve Albert. It's really too good for me to properly capture. 10:55... Round 9. Action in the middle of the ring. Both letting their hands go. Now Perez pushes Agbeko back, and AGbeko responds by backing Perez off. Action back in the middle of the ring. Now Perez with a nice combo that backs Agbeko off momentarily. Perez with a good stretch here, as he's again landing the cleaner shots. Press row has it 77-75 for Perez twice, and 77-75 for Agbeko. Al has it 76-76. Action in the middle of the ring. Agbeko with a good sequence now, as he lands a couple good right hands. I think both men are a little fatigued. Now quite the same sharpness from either as we saw earlier. It's been a grueling battle of attrition. More good action, as Perez landing some decent counters only for Agbeko to push him back, and then for Perez to fire back. Agbeko with a couple decent rights near the end of the round. 10:59... Round 10. The fighters immediately start exchanging in the middle of the ring. Both are warned for using their head, although I think that's clearly something Agbeko is initiating. Al comments that Perez' left hook is not the weapon it what earlier in the fight. It's a little wider. Agbeko is the one pushing the action in this round and having the better of it. He's catching Perez with hard shots, and then Perez fires back with a hard right hand counter that landed flush. Agbeko keeps pressing through. Perez fires back with another nice counter. Agbkeo pushing forward. Perez maybe taking a breather, or a little tired. Agbeko using his jab well in this round.Something happened to Agkbeo's eye, and he turned around and then got clocked by Perez. He's up quickly. I think there might have been a clash of heads, but Byrd missed it. That will count as a knockdown. Agbeko fires back as the round ends. Let's see that again. That could be a huge moment when it comes to the scoring as that was a very good Agbeko round up to that point. 10:59... There was a clash of heads, and Agbeko immediately turned, and Byrd didn't see it as he was on the other side of the action. 11:03... Hard intense action here to start round 11. Both men exchanging in the middle of the ring. All 3 judges have Perez up. 2:00 left in the 11th. Good exchanges here in the middle of the ring. Agbeko I think having the edge in these exchanges, but Perez is landing his share of counters. Just intense action on the inside. Both men just ate hard left hands. Agbeko pushing Perez back a little, but Perez landing counters, and now works his way off the ropes. Terrific round from two tired, but very determined fighters. 11:07... Both men immediately start exchanging in the middle of the ring. Agbeko with a big left hook, and Perez took it well, and he comes back with a hard right hand on the button. Great exchange there. Al says he'll be shocked if the judges have it more than a point or two either way. Al has Perez up by 1. 2:00 to go here in round 12. Ferocious action in the center of the ring. This is amazing stuff. Agbeko having a bit the better of it, with his right hand. Perez is firing back and landing though. "What a sensational fight." - Albert. 50 seconds left. Now they have slowed just a touch, as Perez backs away for a second. Agbeko goes after him, but he's tired. 20 seconds left. Both fighters clearly tired here. They have given a hell of a lot. There's the bell. What a fight. 11:09... We await the cards. 11:10... Here's Jimmy Lennon with the result. 116-111, 117-110, 117-110 all for Yohhny Perez. 11:11... I'm very surprised at those scores. I thought it was razor close. 9-3? 11:12... Jim Gray is with the two fighters. 11:15... A rematch? "Whenever he wants it, I'll be right here." - Perez 11:18... Not surprisingly, Agbeko wants a rematch. I'd love to see it. That was a hell of a fight. For sustained action, I don't think there was a better one this year. 11:19... Press row had it 116-111 and 115-112 for Perez, and 114-113 for Agbeko. 11:20... All 3 press row judges and all 3 official judges obviously scored the knockdown round 10-8. That's just lazy scoring. A knockdown does not automatically give a fighter a 10-8 round, especially if he clearly lost the majority of the round. Anyway, I don't want to complain too much, as that was a fantastic fight, and I think Perez was a fair winner... but I really can't see it being nearly that wide. I hope you enjoyed our coverage of the fight, and check back next week for our live round by round coverage of Glen Johnson vs Chad Dawson.