In the wee hours of Sunday morning, Nigerian boxer Efe Ajagba defeated American boxer Stephan Shaw in the heavyweight battle.
All three scores in a heavyweight fight after ten rounds were 96-94.
Since losing to Frank Sanchez in 2021, Ajagba has won two fights in a row.
He underwent elbow surgery after that fight on both elbows. With the win over Shaw, his record now stands at 17-1 with 13 KOs.
Ajagba said, “I went back to the corner and they told me to let my hands go, keep throwing punches, my jab.”
“I controlled the fight, so that’s how I won the fight. He tried to land the big shots. I watched him to see what he was going to do. He kept throwing the jab, using the jab more.”
After Round 6, Shaw had a 58-56 advantage on all three judges’ scorecards. In the ensuing four rounds, he was outscored 62-37.
He lost, dropping to 18-1 with 13 knockouts, marking his first loss as a professional boxer.
Ajagba holds the record for the sport’s quickest victory after his opponent was disqualified for exiting the ring one second before the bell rang.
Ajagba, a native of Delta State in southern Nigeria, won by majority decision against his opponent from St. Louis, Missouri, and dealt him his first defeat of the fight.
He won a gold medal at the 2015 African Games and a bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games while competing as an amateur.