Nigerian professional boxer Efe Ajagba brought Stephan Shaw’s unbeaten record to end after securing victory via unanimous decision in a tight heavyweight contest in New York.
Boosting 12 KOs prior to the clash, Ajagba reenacted himself as a major contender following his impressive outing in the match at Turning Stone Resort Casino, with all three judges namely Eric Marlinski, John McKaie and Don Trella scoring the 10-round clash 96-94 in favour of the Nigerian.
Before the faceoff, Shaw had not suffered a defeat in his heavyweight career until he faced Ajagba. The Nigerian although landed far more punches and jabs than the American over the last four rounds to win his second straight bout since returning from surgeries on both elbows.
“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,” Ajagba said.
“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.”
The victory takes the 28-year-old Nigerian’s record to 17-1 as his only unfortunate defeat was against Cuba’s Frank Sanchez in the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder undercard in October 2021 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
On the other hand, the defeat is a significant setback for ‘Big Shot’ Shaw, who took the fight at short notice after Colombian contender Oscar Rivas suffered an injury in training and had the ambitious target of becoming America’s next heavyweight boxing champion.
