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Earlier on Saturday at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, undefeated Abner Mares found a way to snatch the IBF bantamweight crown away from Joseph �King Kong� Agbeko after defeating the Ghana star by way of controversial majority decision. After twelve heats judge C.J. Ross scored the contest 113-113 while Adalaide Byrd and Oren Shellenberger had the bout tabbed at 115-111 for the Hawaiian Gardens fighter. Makes no mistake, this was a fine bout between two of the best bantamweights in the world with each man showing glimpses of fire and technical efficiency along the way. But there were some definite moments where the fight appeared to get away from referee Russell Mora. In the first round Agbeko appeared to slip in the corner of the ring but Mora ruled that it was a knockdown, thus granting Mares with a 10-8 opening round and early momentum in the fight. Mares would build upon this lead by bullying Agbeko in the early rounds and it did appear that �King Kong� was looking the worse for wear. But Agbeko, always a true professional, dug down and began to work his way back into the fight. In the fourth he clipped Mares with a chilling right hand that had the audience on its feet and in the following rounds he would fight Mares tit for tat from both the outside and the inside. Then round eleven came and the fight again changed dramatically. Agbeko appeared to be winning the frame but he would be hit with a viscous low blow after copping a Mares right hand below his belt. Agbeko went down to the canvas in pain and everyone in the building assumed that Mora would deduct a point from Mares, who did indeed deliver several low blows throughout the fight, many of which went unnoticed. But shockingly the punch was ruled clean as Mora began another count, signaling the second knockdown against Agbeko in the fight. Still in pain and shaking his head in disbelief, Agbeko, as well as several in the building, couldn�t believe what had happened. From that point forward Agbeko was simply too far behind on the scorecards and the fight was out of reach. Mares would capture his first world title while becoming the first Golden Boy Promotions� fighter to win a belt after being molded from the amateurs, as Agbeko and his team were left heartbroken. It was a very tough fight between two fine prizefighters but both knockdown calls had question marks around them. The first knockdown didn�t appear to be from a punch and the second shot was in plain view of Mora and was obviously low. If those two rounds had been altered on the scorecards then Agbeko could have left the building a champion. In the post-fight press conference Alan Hopper advised that Don King, promoter of Agbeko, would file as many protests as possible in order to fix the situation. The former champion also noted that he will be looking for a rematch against Mares. What shouldn't be lost in all the madness was the spirited effort from both men but the calls from Mora can't be overlooked. Both men had shown interest in a fight with WBC and WBO champion Nonito Donaire and Mares will surely be hoping to entice the Fil-Am star into the ring soon. Donaire is slated for a ring return this coming October 22nd, either in Las Vegas or Reno, Nevada. Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at [email protected]