It was pretty much all one-way action tonight in Brooklyn, as Nigerian heavyweight prospect Efe Ajagba beat down former world title challenger Razvan Cojanu, earning a ninth round stoppage to stay unbeaten in the FOX co-feature from Barclays Center.
Ajagba (13-0, 11 KO) was methodical and measured in his approach tonight, battering Cojanu (17-7, 9 KO) round by round, weathering his opponent’s face progressively, and scoring knockdowns in the eighth and ninth rounds as Cojanu, who was game and ballsy in the fight, simply couldn’t take any more.
Cojanu probably could’ve been stopped in the eighth, either on the knockdown or moments after action resumed and he looked hurt again, but he got into the ninth round, where he wound up taking a knee. Referee Ron Lipton stopped the fight there, having warned Cojanu strongly about taking any more punishment after the eighth round.
Official time of stoppage was 2:45 of round nine.
Ajagba, who is trained in Texas by the respected Ronnie Shields, continues to show a strong all-around game, not fully relying on his power as he had in earlier pro bouts, but there’s still plenty to debate about his ceiling. That said, at 25, he’s clearly one of the top rising names in the heavyweight division right now, and he continues to do the jobs put in front of him.
