Efe Ajagba
Efe Ajagba (born 22 April 1994) is a Nigerian professional boxer who holds the record for the fastest victory in boxing history after his opponent was disqualified for leaving the ring one second after the opening bell. As an Amateur boxing amateur he won a gold medal at the 2015 African Games and bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
| Efe Ajagba | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Nickname(s) | The One and Only |
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight |
| Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) |
| Reach | 220 cm (85 in) |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Born | 22 April 1994 Ughelli, Delta State, Nigeria |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 13 |
| Wins | 13 |
| Wins by KO | 11 |
| Losses | 0 |
Medal record
| |
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Early life
Ajagba was born on 22 April 1994 in Ughelli, Delta State, Nigeria.[1] He formerly worked in a bakery.[2]
Amateur career
Ajagba took up the sport of boxing in 2011 after previously playing football for a club in Ughelli since 2005.[2] He was coached by Anthony Konyegwachie.[2]
Ajagba was selected to compete for the Nigerian team at the 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow. Competing in the super heavyweight division he defeated Junior Fa of Tonga in the round of 16 and Paul Schafer of South Africa in the quarterfinals.[1] He advanced to the semifinals where he was defeated by Joseph Goodall of Australia, meaning Ajagba won a bronze medal.[1][3]
At the 2015 African Games held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, Ajagba was selected as the Nigerian entrant in the men's super heavyweight event. He won the gold medal, beating Keddy Angnes of the Seychelles by a score 3–0 in the final.[4][5][6]
In 2016 he won the gold medal in the super heavyweight event at the African Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Yaoundé, Cameroon. By doing so Ajagba qualified to represent Nigeria at the 2016 Summer Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[7] In the first round Ajagba beat Ugandan Michael Sekamembe on points,[8] he defeated Tunisian boxer Aymen Trabelsi in the semifinal to secure his qualification,[9] then in the final he beat Mohamed Arjaoui of Morocco.[10] Ajagba was the only Nigerian boxer of the ten who competed to qualify for Rio through the tournament, leading to claims from Nigeria's coach Konyegwachie that judges had been bribed.[11]
Professional career
On 24 August 2018, Ajagba scored the fastest victory in boxing history in a match against Curtis Harper, winning via one-second disqualification after Harper walked out of the ring in protest over a pay dispute.[12][13]
Professional boxing record
| 13 fights | 13 wins | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 11 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Win | 13–0 |  |
TKO | 9 (10), 2:46 | 7 Mar 2020 |  |
|
| 12 | Win | 12–0 |  |
KO | 5 (10), 2:09 | 21 Dec 2019 | |
|
| 11 | Win | 11–0 |  |
UD | 10 | 20 Jul 2019 | |
|
| 10 | Win | 10–0 |  |
TKO | 2 (10), 1:40 | 27 Apr 2019 | |
|
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | |
RTD | 2 (8), 3:00 | 9 Mar 2019 | |
|
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | |
TKO | 1 (6), 2:22 | 22 Dec 2018 | |
|
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | |
KO | 1 (6), 2:25 | 30 Sep 2018 | |
|
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | |
DQ | 1 (6), 0:01 | 24 Aug 2018 | |
Harper was disqualified after leaving the ring |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | |
KO | 1 (6), 0:35 | 26 May 2018 | |
|
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | |
KO | 1 (6), 1:14 | 10 Mar 2018 | |
|
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | |
TKO | 5 (6), 1:31 | 4 Nov 2017 | |
|
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | |
TKO | 1 (6), 2:19 | 21 Oct 2017 | |
|
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | |
KO | 1 (6), 1:29 | 30 Jul 2017 | |
Professional debut |
References
- "Efe Ajagba Biography". Official website of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- "Ajagba: The baker who struck gold in Brazzaville". Punch Nigeria. Yohaig Online. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- "Ajagba: I Wanted Football, But Boxing Gave Me Better Opportunities". Complete Sports Nigeria. 17 July 2015. Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- "Four APB boxers win gold at the All Africa Games". AIBA. 13 September 2015. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- "African Games: Nigeria wins 4 gold, 2 silver medals in boxing". Premium Times. 13 September 2015. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- Bonnelame, Betymie (15 September 2015). "Seychelles clinches gold in ladies High Jump at the All Africa Games in Brazzaville". Seychelles News Agency. Archived from the original on 14 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- "Rio 2016: Ajagba only Nigerian boxer to book ticket". Vanguard Nigeria. 24 March 2016. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- Okosi, Izuchukwu (13 March 2013). "Africa Boxing Championship: Ajagba, Apochi Tipped For Olympic Glory". Complete Sports Nigeria. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- Agberebi, James (19 March 2016). "Nigeria's Ajagba Clinches Rio Olympics Boxing Spot". Complete Sports Nigeria. Archived from the original on 23 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- Agberebi, James (20 March 2016). "Boxing: Ajagba Wins Nigeria's Only African Gold As Linus Misses Olympics". Complete Sports Nigeria. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- Morgan, Liam (24 March 2016). "Exclusive: Claims of bribery at African Olympic Qualification Event by Nigerian coach dismissed as "unacceptable" by AIBA". insidethegames.biz. Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- Reddy, Luke (25 August 2018). "Curtis Harper walks out of bout with Efe Ajagba in pay protest". BBC. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- "Ajagba vs Harper Full Fight: August 24, 2018 - PBC on FS1". YouTube. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2018.