King Kong calls Donaire and Montiel cowards

BoxingScene.com caught up with IBF bantamweight champion Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko before the press conference to promote his fight versus Abner Mares that takes place on August 13th at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The fight will determine the winner of Showtime's bantamweight tournament.

When our conversation turned to the subject of possible future opponents for Agbeko should be get past Mares, the Ghanaian native didn't hold his tongue when I brought up WBO/WBC bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire's name. "To me Donaire is a coward. This tournament was set up for the best six (bantamweights) in the world and when he and Fernando Montiel pulled out I looked at them as cowards."

Top Rank opted to not put Donaire or Montiel in the bantamweight tournament and instead matched the two fighters this past February. Donaire won with a sensational 2nd round knockout. Even though he had harsh words for Donaire, Agbeko didn't rule out the possibility of facing the Filipino fighter in the future.

"After I take out Abner Mares if he (Donaire) is brave enough to fight me then I will be ready for him," Agbeko told Boxingscene.com