Efe Ajagba: Nigerian Heavyweight On Course To Join AJ, Samuel Peter In Boxing Hall of Fame

Efe Ajagba might not be enjoying any inkling of attention like two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua or former champion, Nigerian Nightmare Samuel Peter but the Ughelli-born fighter on Saturday night knocked out Ukrainian opponent Iago Kiladze in the fifth round at the Toyota Arena in California.

Ajabga had a feel of the canvas in the third round but equally got Kiladze down twice; in the third and fifth rounds before the later’s trainer threw in the towel having noticed the Ukrainian was at risk of more battering from the hard-hitting Nigerian prospect.

Ajabga believes his bout against Kiladze will help him improve.

“This kind of fight will help me perform better in the future. This guy was a good fighter and he can take a lot of shots. I missed a lot of shots. Ronnie Shields, my trainer, kept telling me to work behind the jab and come back with the hook.

“It’s something that I have to learn to do. I made some mistakes, but I will go back to the gym and work on it. I’ll do better next time,” he said.

The Nigerian who has recorded 10 KOS, one full victory has never lost in his entire professional 12-bouts career.

In August 2018, the 25-year-old recorded a victory that puts him as the boxer with the fastest victory in the world at a timeframe of a second, after his opponent, Curtis Harper decided to walk out before the opening bell and consequently got disqualified.

A former footballer, Ajagba dumped the round leather game for a career in boxing and got into the limelight after finishing with Bronze at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

He later won gold at the 2015 African Games at the Republic of Congo and in the super heavyweight event at the 2016 African Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Cameroon.

Raised in Nigeria, he represented the country of his birth at those three competitions before wading into professional boxing.