Sena Agbeko Shocks Isaiah Steen, Wins Unanimous Decision in ShoBox Main Event
Isaiah Steen seemed to think taking Sena Agbeko’s flushest punches and consistently utilizing his jab was enough to win their 10-round fight Friday night.
All three judges disagreed with Steen and the previously unbeaten super middleweight prospect’s team.
They favored Agbeko’s aggression throughout their bout and his harder connections during their “ShoBox: The New Generation” main event at Bally’s Grand Ballroom. Judges Mark Consentino (97-93), Anthony Lundy (96-94) and Joseph Pasquale (98-92) all scored their fight for Agbeko, a Ghanian-born, Tennessee-based power puncher who took this fight on barely two weeks’ notice.
The win was career-changing for the 30-year-old Agbeko (27-2, 21 KOs), a Nashville resident who lost a 10-round unanimous decision to unbeaten Russian 168-pound contender Vladimir Shishkin (13-0, 8 KOs) in his last “ShoBox” main event in February 2021. Cleveland’s Steen suffered the first defeat of his career (16-1, 12 KOs) in what was the 26-year-old boxer’s first fight in the 15 months since he out-pointed then-unbeaten Kalvin Henderson (15-2-1, 11 KOs) in another “ShoBox” main event.
“Steen is the first undefeated fighter that I’ve beaten,” Agbeko told Boxing Scene. “I’ve been working really hard, just staying behind the scenes and looking for the stage to prove that I’m world championship material. I got this fight on short notice, but like I said, I’ve always been training hard. I’ve been doing this since I started boxing 11 years ago in Ghana.
“So, to get this opportunity, to be able to show up and get it done, I’m very happy. … I’m just happy that I’ve gotten some vindication for all the hard work that I’ve put in behind the scenes. I’m very excited to be in this spot and I’m excited for what’s ahead in the future.”
CompuBox credited Agbeko for landing only two more punches overall than Steen (75-of-308 to 73-of-365). According to CompuBox, Agbeko landed many more power shots (45-of-142 to 18-of-78) and Steen connected on almost twice as many jabs (55-of-287 to 30-of-166).
Their fight was competitive and although Agbeko landed the harder punches during the first nine rounds, he still pressed for a knockout in the 10th and final round. He caught Steen with a right hand that made him hold with about 1:15 on the clock in the 10th round and another flush right that initiated a clinch by Steen toward the end of the final round.
Agbeko’s aggression kept Steen on his back foot for most of the ninth round, when he tied up Agbeko several times. A right and then a left by Agbeko backed up Steen and made him hold about 1:15 into the ninth round.
Agbeko remained aggressive throughout the eighth round, but Steen tried to fend him off with his jab and took his power punches without incident. A right hand by Agbeko hit Steen as he moved toward the ropes early in the eighth round.
Steen countered Agbeko with an overhand right and moved out of his opponent’s punching range with 1:20 to go in the seventh round. Steen drilled Agbeko with a short right hand on the inside early in the seventh round.
Steen’s right hand landed to the side of Agebko’s head with just over 50 seconds on the clock in the sixth round, but Agbeko pressed forward. Agbeko caused Steen to hold him after he landed a right hand early in the sixth round.
Steen worked well off his jab during the fifth round and dealt well with Agbeko’s pressure during those three minutes.
Steen’s jab made Agbeko reset his feet with just over 30 seconds on the clock in the fourth round. A left-right combination by Agbeko landed with just over a minute to go in the fourth round and made Steen retreat.
A left-right combination by Agbeko got Steen’s attention and made him move away from his hard-hitting opponent five seconds before the third round ended. Steen’s stiff jab knocked Agbeko off balance 50 seconds into the third round.
Agbeko connected with a right hand on the inside with just over 30 seconds on the clock in the second round. A sweeping left hook by Agbeko landed early in the second round, when Steen tried to work off his jab and moved away from the stalking Agbeko.
A short right hand by Agbeko caught Steen as Steen bent forward toward the end of the first round. Steen tried to hold Agbeko after taking that punch and caused them to tumble to the canvas.
Agbeko caught Steen with a right hand about 55 seconds into the opening round as Steen backed toward the ropes.
