Ajagba Gets The Stoppage As Muratalla And Lebron Stay Undefeated
In the main event of this ESPN telecast, heavyweight Efe Ajagba (19-1, 14 KOs) avenged a loss from the amateurs by Joseph Goodall (10-2-1, 9 KOs) with an impressive stoppage. From the top of the match, Ajagba controlled the tempo and real estate of the fight with his thumping jab. Unfortunately, rather than return fire in kind, Goodall ate leather and not much more.
During the third round, Ajagba, ranked #7 (WBC) and #13(IBF), hurt the Australian with a number of shots. It appeared he was on the edge of finishing his flustered foe. Goodall narrowly survived the round.
After getting nailed with some balance-disrupting hooks, Ajagba pounced on Goodall and hammered him with an unbroken series of shots. Even though most of the punches did not land, the volley of blows still prompted referee Tony Weeks to jump in and call an end to the fight. In his post-fight interview, Ajagba did not call out anyone in particular but claimed to be ready for anyone in the division.
MURATALLA DOMINATES AND STOPS NUNEZ
In what was supposed to be a battle of equals between lightweight fighters Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (19-0, 15 KOs) and Diego “Azabacje” Nunez (18-1, 17 KOs) turned into a very lopsided affair. Right from the clang of the initial bell, Muratalla established range and dominance over Nunez in a smooth and clinical fashion.
To his credit, Azabache was always trying to find a way to land any effective offense, but he was unable to. In many respects, this match was a case of seen one round, and you’ve seen them all. Well, that was until the ninth when Danger sent a lethal left hook crashing into Nunez’s jaw and dropped him to the canvas in a twisted heap.
Like a warrior, Azabache made it to his feet before the count. Unfortunately, in a somewhat questionable fashion, referee Celestino Ruiz called a halt to the action even though he didn’t appear overly impaired.
In his post-fight interview, Muratalla, ranked #9 (WBO), #9 (WBC), and #11 (IBF), called out undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney, who is facing WBC super lightweight champion Regis Prograis. It will be interesting to see what is next for the heavy-handed Muratalla.
LEBRON EDGES FOSTER IN STERN TEST
In this duel of undefeated super featherweight fighters, Henry “Macho” LeBron (19-0, 10 KO’s) and William “The Silent Assassin” Foster (16-1, 10 KOs) was sufficiently tested. In the end, LeBron walked away with the win via split decision.
During the early rounds, LeBron, ranked #8 (WBO) and #10 (IBF), set up shop in the weeds of his back foot where he waited for opportunities to counter. While The Silent Assassin was coming forward, his offense was not gripping much traction. This changed in the middle and early second-half rounds. During this stretch, Foster was able to consistently get on the inside and outwork Macho with grittier volume and body shots.
In the closing rounds, LeBron was able to steady himself and ride a second wind back into the dominant role. During the ninth round in particular Macho clobbered Foster, ranked #12 (WBA), with more left hooks than a NASCAR race. The back-and-forth nature of the bout, was reflected in the scorecards 95/95, 96/94, and 99/91, in Lebron’s favor. It will be interesting to see how the rising pugilist parlay this victory into his next opportunity.
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