Efe Ajagba stops Iago Kiladze in five!
Coming in at (11-0, 9KOs), the highly touted heavyweight prospect Efe Ajagba was put to the test and had to overcome some adversity!
His opponent, the experienced heavyweight fringe contender Iago Kiladze (26-4-1, 18KOs) was supposed to be just another stepping stone in the career of the former Olympian.
However, he was anything but that!
After a slow opening round in which the undefeated prospect utilized his jab and right hand to control the round, things got cooking!
The powerful Nigerian would display his much talked about power, however, Kiladze wouldn’t go away without leaving the unbeaten prospect some things to think about. Kiladze would start to land hard shots repeatedly that got the attention of his adversary.
The following round would see both men rise off the canvas. After scoring a knockdown from a right hand, Ajagba would himself touch the canvas as he came in recklessly. He would be met with a right hand that would sit him down!
The back and forth action between the two would continue as both men gave as much as they got.
Round five would host an empathetic end for the veteran as Ajagba would score another knockdown. This time, he did not come in reckless in an attempt to end the fight, but instead had his ducks in a row as he pushed his opponent back with hard combinations.
Finally, the corner of Kiladze had seen enough as the towel went sailing into the ring.
Ajagba passed the adversity test for sure here, but his defense has to be better; in particular his head movement. His trainer Ronnie Shields repeatedly told his fighter to move his head which fell on deaf ears for majority of this fight.
Let’s keep in mind that Ajagba has only been boxing for eight years, so there’s tons of room for improvements.
By: Jerrell Fletcher
