Nigerian boxer, Efe Ajagba, delivered a brutal third round knockout in the third round of his heavyweight bout with Brian Howard in front of a sold-out crowd at Osage Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma, US, this weekend.
Ajagba was fighting in his second bout since signing for Top Rank, returning to his knockout pedigree following a points-based win in his last bout.
The 26-year-old improved his heavyweight record to 15-0 (12 KO).
The 2016 Nigerian Olympian dropped Howard to the canvass with a heavy right hand punch to his opponent’s chin who required immediate medical attention as the referee stopped the bout.
Howard (15-5, 11KOs) was down for several minutes but made it out of the ring on his feet.
Ajagba, a Commonwealth Games Bronze medallist, was measured in the opening rounds before unleashing his corner’s instruction to drop a grieving Howard who buried his mother earlier in the week.
“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,” Ajagba said following his impressive and fearsome victory that sends a message to the heavyweight division.