Fast-rising Nigerian heavyweight boxer, Efe Ajagba has revealed the secret that helped him sink USA’s Brian Howard in the third round and achieve a stunning 12th knockout win of his career in such an amazing manner that further boosted his soaring reputation.
Megasportsarena.com reports that Ajaba’s latest demolition came on Saturday, when he delivered an emphatic pummeling of the hapless American at Osage Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, during a fight that he completely dominated.
The 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist and 2015 Africa Games silver medalist was at his very best, measured and calm in the opening rounds before landing the knockout punch in the third, following which he revealed that listening to his trainer’s instructions made a world of difference for him.
It was another surprisingly easy win for Ajagba, who still holds the record of the world’s fastest victory in boxing history when his opponent some three years back, Curtis Harper jumped out of the ring right after the first bell rang, in protest over a pay dispute in August 2018.
Saturday was different though, as it took a right hand smack to Howard’s chin that sent the man from America sprawling to the canvas and forced an immediate stoppage and medical attention was required, as he stayed down for several minutes.
The undefeated 26-year-old Ajagba sent yet another warning with one of the most brutal, one-punch knockouts boxing has seen in recent years, as he humiliated Howard with a third-round knockout that stunned the world and the video has since gone viral.
While the opening rounds of the undercard fight went back and forth, with Ajagba absorbing his fair share of punches despite marching Howard down, it was a matter of time before ‘The Beast’ would pull through, and that happened in the third round, when Howard committed the grave error of failing to keep his guard up, in search of a quick counter, but got hit by a sucker punch.
Howard eventually got to his feet after receiving checks from the doctor for several minutes, but he could not continue and had to step out of the ring with additional support, while Ajagba was left celebrating what became his 12th knockout win 15 fights and the pugilist.
It was also a welcome change to what many fight purists believe was a very drab performance that Ajagba put up in his unanimous decision win over Jonathan Rice last September, and the Nigerian fighter, who is yet to taste defeat since turning pro, put it all down to the right calls coming from his corner.
Ajagba told ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna: “It feels really good. I listened to the corner, they told me to start to the body and then go to the head. When I started with the jab to the body, it caused him to drop his hands. Then came the right hand.
“I tried to pick the punches, use the jab. This guy is very slick sometimes. I tried to do the job. He was shaky, so when I went back to the corner after the first round, my coach told me to take my time, start with the body, leave the head.
“I trained for this fight, took my time, started with my boxing foundation, and came back strong. This camp was the best one for me, the best camp ever in my boxing career. It’s my time to shine, so I’m coming for the heavyweights.”
