Efe Ajagba performed better against an undefeated boxer-puncher on Saturday night than the last time he fought one.
Two bouts after his lopsided unanimous loss to Frank Sanchez, Ajagba won a playoff against previously undefeated Stephan Shaw by unanimous decision. Nigeria’s Ajagba was the attacker for nearly all 10 rounds, while Shaw was reluctant to face the heavyweight-hitting contender in an ESPN broadcast of the main event from the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.
Judges Eric Marlinski, John McKaie and Don Trella scored their uneventful encounter identically, 96-94 for Ajagba.
“I went back to the corner and they told me to let go of my hands, keep throwing punches, my jab,” Ajagba said. “I controlled the fight, so I won the fight.”
According to CompuBox, Ajagba landed 33 more punches overall than Shaw (111 of 430 to 78 of 341). CompuBox credited Ajagba for landing more jabs (90 out of 350 to 48 out of 237) and Shaw for landing more power punches (30 out of 104 to 21 out of 80).
“He was trying to land the big animals,” Ajagba said. “I watched him to see what he would do. He threw the jab further and used the jab more.
Ajagba (17-1, 13 KOs), a 2016 Olympian, won a second straight fight since Sanchez defeated him. Cuba’s Sanchez (21-0, 14 KOs) dropped Ajagba in the seventh round, topping him on all three scorecards in a 10-round match forming part of the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder pay-per-view undercard in October 2021 was at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Ajagba underwent surgery on both elbows after losing to Sanchez. Healthier and more confident, he promised to box Shaw better than he did Sanchez.
St. Louis’ Shaw, on the other hand, failed to capitalize on the biggest opportunity of his nine-year pro career.
Without hesitation, Shaw (18-1, 13 KOs, 1 NC) picked up this fight against Ajagba with less than a month’s notice. Ajagba was due to face Colombian contender Oscar Rivas (28-1, 19 KOs) but Rivas suffered a detached retina in training last month.
Shaw was already training to fight Italian contestant Guido Vianello (10-1-1, 9 KOs), who was stopped in the seventh round of ESPN’s co-feature by a cut by Jonnie Rice (16-6-1, 11 KOs). became Saturday night.
As Round 10 of Main Event got underway, it seemed clear that Ajagba and Shaw would go the distance.
Ajagba’s right hand threw Shaw behind with just over a minute left in the 10th and final round.
Ajagba’s right hand assisted Shaw into the ropes in the 10th round with 1:25 left.
Shaw lunged forward and landed a left hook with just under 20 seconds to go in the ninth round. Just before the ninth round ended, Shaw landed a right hand from long range.
Shaw snuck into a left hook in the eighth round with just under 30 seconds on the clock.
Ajagba’s left landed about 1:15 from the end of round eight. Shaw’s power jab landed a little less than 20 seconds into the eighth round.
Shaw connected with a right hand at 1:15 to go into the seventh round. They mostly traded jabs further in the seventh round.
A power jab from Ajagba got Shaw on the ropes 40 seconds into the sixth round. Shaw landed a left hook shortly after while they were in the center of the ring.
Shaw was more aggressive at times in the fifth round, but he still mainly fought with his rear foot, avoiding Ajagba’s power.
A sweeping left hook from Shaw connected with just over 35 seconds remaining in the fourth round. A right-left combination from Ajagba connected a minute before the start of round four.
Ajagba dodged Shaw’s right hand and came back quickly to land a right hand of his own with 1:35 left in the third round.
Ajagba and Shaw missed power punches in the second round as they again focused mostly on pumping their jabs.
Ajagba and Shaw traded stiff jabs with just over 15 seconds left in the first round. Otherwise, neither fighter landed consistent punches in the first three minutes.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.