Joseph Agbeko vs. Abner Mares, was a professional boxing match contested on August 13, 2011, for the IBF bantamweight championship.
The bout was held at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, and was televised on Showtime. It was billed as the Final Showtime's Bantamweight Tournament and originally planned for April 23, however, Agbeko pulled out of the fight just days prior, citing an injury, and the fight was rescheduled for August 13.
The bout was marred in controversy due to the prevalence of low blows by Mares that went unpenalized by referee Russell Mora. The most infamous of these came during the 11th round, in which a low blow from Mares landed on Agbeko's cup, causing Agbeko to drop. While the low blow was clearly visible to everyone, referee Mora ruled it as a knockdown.
Post fight, Jim Gray interviewed Mora where he denied it was low saying "First and foremost, I have to enforce the rules. Those punches were on the beltline. It's a fair punch. I have to call it fair. It would be unfair to give the other guy an advantage just because he says it's low. I saw the punch. It's on the beltline. I gotta call that a fair punch." Gray then plainly showed the crucial call that turned the fight, a low blow in the 11th leading to a knockdown, however Mora again denied that the clear low blow was low "It sure...it has a different viewpoint from looking at here in slow motion. When I saw it live, I saw that it was a fair punch on the beltline. That was my call."
Three days after the bout the IBF ordered an immediate rematch.
Confirmed bouts: