You beat the best, you are the best and this Saturday, Aug. 13, the best bantamweight in the world will emerge when finalists Joseph King Kong Agbeko and Abner Mares clash in The Bantamweight Tournament Final: Winner Takes All live on SHOWTIME (10:00 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).

The highly anticipated matchup for Agbeko's International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight title and the promising, unbeaten Mares' WBC Silver championship belt will take place at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev.

Agbeko, of Bronx, N.Y., by way of Accra, Ghana, will bring a record of 28-2 with 22 KOs into the 12-round bout. Mares, of Hawaiian Gardens, Calif., by way of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, is 21-0-1 with 13 stoppages.

Tickets, priced at $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25, along with a limited number of VIP suite seats priced at $150, are available at the Hard Rock Hotel Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.Ticketmaster.com or by phone (800) 745-3000.

Doors open Saturday at 3:00 p.m. The first non-televised undercard fight starts at 3:30 p.m.

Agbeko and Mares were scheduled to meet last April 23, but the fight was postponed when Agbeko was injured moments after his arrival at Los Angeles International Airport for fight week. Doctors diagnosed the champion with sudden onset sciatica, a back injury.

For information on SHOWTIME Sports Programming, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please go the new SHOWTIME Sports website athttp://sports.sho.com/.

What the fighters and executives said Thursday:

JOSEPH KING KONG AGBEKO

"It's great to be back. Las Vegas is like my home. I made my U.S. debut here. I want to thank my promoter, Don King, and all who made this fight and tournament possible.

"It may be Mares' dream to become world champion but my dream is to become No. 1 pound-for-pound in boxing. A loss on Saturday would not give me that chance, so my only option is to win.

"I don't understand why Mares is a (near 2-1) favorite. I'm the champion. I just want a fair fight.''

ABNER MARES

"I want to thank everyone for the opportunity to do what I love, and that is boxing. I want to thank the media for the attention and support they give the little guys. I want to thank SHOWTIME for allowing me to enter this tournament and showcase my talent.

"The final is here and I'm really happy about that. I had a tough fight in my last fight against (Vic) Darchinyan and now I am ready make my dream come true.

"I am totally ready for this. There's no way I can lose. The thought of defeat is not in my mind. I am ready for a war.''