Here's Showtime's Al Bernstein for The Boxing Channel (via Yahoo! Sports (got all that?)) quickly recapping the August 13 fight between Abner Mares and Joseph Agbeko, and previewing Saturday's rematch in California. The fight will air live on Showtime, and has unfortunately flown under the radar going head-to-head with the Cotto vs Margarito pay-per-view. But make no mistake: This is a big, significant fight, and should be a good one.
Bernstein's referral to the first fight as "a big, fat controversy" is fun.
[ Related: Agbeko Final Presser Quotes / Mares Final Presser Quotes ]
If you can't watch at work (or for whatever reason), here's the quick breakdown for both.
Al says that Joseph Agbeko needs to (1) Start quickly, (2) Establish the jab, and (3) Land the right instead of trading left hooks with Mares. For Mares, Bernstein offers (1) Throw combinations, (2) Work the body - legally, and (3) Lateral movement, saying that this "bedeviled" Agbeko in the first fight.
We'll have more on Mares vs Agbeko II in the next two days, and we will have live, round-by-round coverage on Saturday night to go along with live coverage of the Cotto vs Margarito show.