Efe Ajagba did just that. And he was rewarded.
Neither he nor his opponent Stephan Shaw delivered many eye-catching punches but overall Ajagba was the more aggressive, busier boxer in their 10-round bout Saturday at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.
As a result, the heavyweight left the ring with a decisive unanimous victory, his second straight win since losing to Frank Sanchez.
All three judges scored 96-94, six rounds left four for Ajagba (17-1, 13 KOs).
Shaw (18-1, 13 KOs) was given the biggest opportunity of his career when he was invited to a main event on ESPN weeks after Ajagba’s original rival, Oscar Rivas, withdrew. Retired due to eye injury.
However, products of St. Louis did not fight with the urgency one would expect in such a situation.
In fact, it was Ajagba who fueled the action for most of the match and threw more punches. The 6-foot-6 Nigerian basically secured the decisive victory with his long jab, which he landed repeatedly from start to finish.
Shaw also got in very well at times and delivered some powerful shots, but he fought on his hind legs and let Ajagba control the action for most of the match.
Ajagba was one of the hottest young heavyweights in the world when he lost to Sanchez a decisive match in October 2021, after which he had to undergo surgery to repair injuries to both elbows and time. to recover.
He came back to stop relatively unknown Jozsef Darmos for two innings this past August. And now he’s got a win over the capable Shaw under him, which could put the 28-year-old back in the rankings and one step closer to claiming the title.
