Efe Ajagba Starting Road to Redemption On Good Footing
Heavyweight Efe Ajagba (16-1, 13KO) was looking to make a statement return, and boy did he ever, with a second-round stoppage of Jozsef Darmos (14-5-3, 10KO). After a ten-month layoff from his first defeat by Frank Sanchez in 2021, Ajagba came out stalking Darmos with hard thudding shots. Working off the jab, he landed hooks to both the body and the head, showing improvements on the undercard of Jose Pedraza versus Richard Commey.
Ajagba, once viewed as a contender, ranked #8 (WBC), and #10 (WBO), dropped out of the rankings following the sole defeat to Sanchez. He used that ten-month layoff to heal his right hand and work on being more technically sound, relying less on his power.
A CHANGE OF PACE FOR AJAGBA
Despite getting the early stoppage, there were a few noticeable changes in his approach from the opening bell. Ajagba looked to work a lot more behind the jab and went to the body while allowing the fight to develop instead of forcing the knockout. However, his climb back is going to be tough and he needed to win in this fashion.
A 2016 Olympian, Ajagba fought a relaxed and patient fight, as opposed to being overly aggressive. He will need these new tools to regain the spot he once held before his last fight. The heavyweight division is stacked and hopefully this new mindset will help serve him on the journey back into title contention.
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By: Garrisson Bland
