Middleweight Caoimhin Agyarko Shows Promise of Future Success
In just his eleventh fight as a professional boxer, Caoimhin “Black Thunder” Agyarko (11-0, 7 KO’s) staged the first defense of his WBA International middleweight title in the co-main event of the evening. In that contest, Agyarko, 25, fought, out-gunned and outpointed Juan Carlos Rubio en route to a wide unanimous decision.
The big win on the significant stage was lightyears away from the hospital bed that he lay in pondering whether he would ever box again. Back in 2017, after a verbal altercation with a gaggle of street toughs went left, Agyarko wound up in the hospital with his face slashed. For a brief spell, Agyakro, who was reared in Ireland, thought that perhaps his career was over. Yet, the expert care and craft of skilled plastic surgeons mended his flesh in such a fashion that he could resume his career.
Another round of misfortune struck the Irishman two years later in 2019. Having garnered a great deal of positive notoriety due to his in-ring skillset, Agyrako was going to fly out to help Billy Joe Saunders prepare for his dust-up with Canelo Alvarez. That was until COVID-19 swept the planet, ushering in all sorts of news traveling protocols. Caught on the wrong side of the ocean when the ban went into place, Black Thunder missed out on the valuable experience.
THE SKY’S THE LIMIT
Thankfully the heavy-handed bruiser did not lose faith and continued training and keeping his mind on the grind. Things really started falling in place for him following his June 2021 third round knockout of Ernesto Olvera. This is when Agyarko signed with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. In his very first fight with Matchroom, Black Thunder dueled and stopped Noe Larios Jr to forcibly claim the vacant WBA International title. In his second match with promotional company, he was in the co-main event of a DAZN telecast aired in his own backyard.
During his prizefight with Rubio, Agyrako displayed shades of a diverse and powerful fighter. Black Thunder moved well on his feet, held decent pop in his punches and played the role of ring general well. At the same time, the young fighter let his thirst for the knockout bleed the versatility out of his offense. Rather than set traps or fight with finesse, the Irishman simply sought to walk down and out-muscle Rubio. And as is often the case, when a fighter chases the KO, it finds a way of never happening.
Nevertheless, Agyarko is very fresh in his professional career and has time to grow. It also stands to reason that Black Thunder fought with such uncouth aggression precisely because he was fighting on his home turf and sought to make a grand impression for the crowd. So, with his talent, room for improvement and Matchroom/DAZN backing, Caoimhin Agyarko is definitely a fighter to keep your eye on.
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By: Bakari Simpson
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