Joseph �King Kong� Agbeko: I Am Ready To Be Crowned World Champion

Ghana�s Joseph �King Kong� Agbeko and Luis Melendez of Colombia will come face to face Friday night for the IBO world bantamweight title at the Accra Sports stadium. Speaking to the media ahead of the bout, �King Kong� Agbeko promised Ghanaians of another world title belt on home soil since Professor Azumah Nelson did that in 1988. �I have really worked hard to make this weight. It shows that I have really trained very hard. I am ready to be crowned as the new IBO World Bantamweight champion. I am so happy I am coming to fight, boxing is my job... ��I have a lot of respect for Luis Melendez. He (Luis) has been fighting for a very long time; he is very experienced and fought a lot of tough guys, so that shows he is a very good boxer. I am not taking him lightly. I will take my time and respect him in the ring, take my time and punish him very well,� he said. The former world champion is very optimistic of a win but was quick to say he cannot promise a knockout despite being a knockout specialty. �I am not going to predict a knockout but I am going to work on him (Luis Melendez) very hard and if he can�t enjoy the punishment, then that means he will go down,� he said. Melendez, 33, is seeking his biggest prize in the sport after failed attempts in 2007 and 2012 for similar world titles. Agbeko is already a two-time world champion. Both boxers sounded confident in the pre-fight talks, but Agbeko�s pedigree as a credible contender for the world title has earned him the favourite status.