Efe Ajagba declares that he’s the hardest punching heavyweight

On April 10, Efe Ajagba scored an eye-catching knockout against Brian Howard. He caught up with FanSided to talk about his place as a heavyweight. 

Heavyweight boxer Efe Ajagba has always been a knockout puncher, but on Saturday, April 10, he took his KO punching to new heights.

Halfway through round 3 against Brian Howard on the undercard of Joe Smith Jr. vs. Maxim Vlasov, Ajagba delivered a one-two combination that cracked Howard to the side of the head and left him motionless and flattened on the canvas.

Ajagba (15-0, 12 KOs) created a buzz with his performance and showed that he’s a heavyweight force. With a Knockout of the Year contender under his belt, Ajagba is going to be very popular. Ajagba recently talked FanSided through his showstopping knockout of Howard.

“I see what I’m going to do,” Ajagba told FanSided. “It’s on me. Coach Kay [Koroma] told me to start with the jab to stop everything because Brian would put the hands down, and that’s when I get my target.”

https://twitter.com/trboxing/status/1381069186563117057?s=20

Ajagba followed coach Koroma’s advice, and good things happened. It was Ajagba’s second fight working with Karoma. Last year saw a lot of change for the former Olympian originally from Nigeria.

Feeling like he wasn’t progressing as a boxer as quickly as he would have liked, Ajagba brought about many changes. He signed a deal to bring on boxing manager J. Prince as an advisor. He moved on from PBC to Top Rank, and he switched from trainer Ronnie Shields to Koroma.

“I want to be a better boxer,” said Ajagba. “That’s why we changed.”

Efe Ajagba is in a good spot and is looking for a marquee matchup in 2021.

Before Ajagba’s emphatic dismantling of Howard, he fought Jonathan Rice to a decision in September. Reports came after the fight that Ajagba hurt his hand in that fight, but he revealed during his post-fight interview after stopping Howard that his elbows were the problem and required surgery.

He elaborated on his previous injuries to FanSided. Ajagba had surgery on both elbows.

“Both elbows,” said Ajagba. “It happened before Jonathan Rice. It took me like two to three months [to recover.]”

Ajagba obviously looked good in his latest outing against Howard but still felt some discomfort in his right elbow.

“After the knockout, I feel the pain a little bit on my right elbow,” said Ajagba.

Ajagba is a young fighter at 26 years old and has drawn comparisons to Deontay Wilder because of his 6-foot-6 height, long build and reach, and destructive power. Some would consider being compared to wilder flattering. Ajagba, not so much. He believes he’s a better boxer than Wilder. Ajagba provided a rationale to FanSided.

“Yes, because I have the skills, and I have the reach, and I have the power in both arms,” said Ajagba when comparing his skill set to Wilder’s.

There’s no doubt that Ajagba’s confidence is sky-high after his latest win. He made a bold proclamation about his power compared to all of the other heavyweight boxers.

“I’m the hardest puncher heavyweight ever in the world, right now,“ said Ajagba.

Ajagba put the heavyweight division on notice with his fists and now his words. He also named some fighters he would like to share the ring with next.

“I’d like to fight Daniel Dubois, Joe Joyce, and Tony Yoka,” said Ajagba. “I would love to fight Daniel Dubois.”

Ajagba said that he would like to fight four more times in 2021. It would be a real treat to see him in the ring with any of the three fighters he mentioned. Let’s cross our fingers and hope for the best.