{"id":187176,"date":"2023-01-15T11:27:13","date_gmt":"2023-01-15T11:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/efe-ajagba-boxes-past-stephan-shaw-for-unanimous-decision\/"},"modified":"2023-01-15T11:27:13","modified_gmt":"2023-01-15T11:27:13","slug":"efe-ajagba-boxes-past-stephan-shaw-for-unanimous-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/efe-ajagba-boxes-past-stephan-shaw-for-unanimous-decision\/","title":{"rendered":"Efe Ajagba Boxes Past Stephan Shaw For Unanimous Decision"},"content":{"rendered":"
Efe Ajagba fared better against an unbeaten boxer-puncher Saturday night than the last time he fought one.<\/p>\n
Two fights after his one-sided, unanimous-decision defeat to Frank Sanchez, Ajagba won what mostly amounted to a jabbing contest against previously undefeated Stephan Shaw by unanimous decision. Nigeria’s Ajagba was the aggressor for almost all 10 rounds, whereas Shaw seemed reluctant to engage with the hard-hitting heavyweight contender in a main event ESPN broadcast from Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.<\/p>\n
Judges Eric Marlinski, John McKaie and Don Trella scored their uneventful encounter identically, 96-94 for Ajagba.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went back to the corner and they told me to let my hands go, keep throwing punches, my jab,\u201d Ajagba said. \u201cI controlled the fight, so that’s how I won the fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
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-of-350 to 48-of-237) and Shaw for landing more power punches (30-of-104 to 21-of-80).<\/p>\n
\u201cHe tried to land the big shots,\u201d Ajagba said. \u201cI watched him to see what he was going to do. He kept throwing the jab, using the jab more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ajagba (17-1, 13 KOs), a 2016 Olympian, won a second straight fight since Sanchez beat him. Cuba’s Sanchez (21-0, 14 KOs) dropped Ajagba in the seventh round and comfortably out-pointed him on all three scorecards in a 10-rounder that was part of the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder pay-per-view undercard in October 2021 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
Ajagba underwent surgery on both elbows following his loss to Sanchez. Healthier and more confident, he promised he would box better against Shaw than he did versus Sanchez.<\/p>\n
st. Louis’ Shaw, meanwhile, was unable to capitalize on the biggest opportunity of his nine-year professional career.<\/p>\n
Without hesitation, Shaw (18-1, 13 KOs, 1 NC) took this fight against Ajagba on less than one month’s notice. Ajagba was supposed to fight Colombian contender Oscar Rivas (28-1, 19 KOs), but Rivas fell a detached retina while training last month.<\/p>\n
Shaw was already training to battle Italian prospect Guido Vianello (10-1-1, 9 KOs), who was stopped due to a cut by Jonnie Rice (16-6-1, 11 KOs) in the seventh round of ESPN’s co-feature Saturday night.<\/p>\n
By the time the 10th round of the main event began, it seemed clear that Ajagba and Shaw would go the distance.<\/p>\n
Ajagba’s right hand knocked Shaw backward with just over a minute remaining in the 10th and final round.<\/p>\n
Ajagba’s right hand backed Shaw into the ropes with 1:25 to go in the 10th round.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Shaw snuck in a left hook with just under 30 seconds on the clock in the eighth round.<\/p>\n
Ajagba’s left landed with about 1:15 to go in the eighth round. Shaw’s power jab landed a little less than 20 seconds into the eighth round.<\/p>\n
Shaw connected with a right hand with 1:15 to go in the seventh round. They mostly continued to trade jabs in the seventh round.<\/p>\n
A power jab by Ajagba backed Shaw into the ropes 40 seconds into the sixth round. Shortly thereafter, Shaw landed a left hook while they were in the center of the ring.<\/p>\n
Shaw was more aggressive at times in the fifth round, yet he still fought mostly off his back foot and avoided Ajagba’s power.<\/p>\n
A sweeping left hook by Shaw connected with just over 35 seconds remaining in the fourth round. A right-left combination by Ajagba connected a minute into the fourth round.<\/p>\n
Ajagba avoided Shaw’s right hand and quickly came back to land a right hand of his own with 1:35 to go in the third round.<\/p>\n
Ajagba and Shaw slipped power punches in the second round, when they again focused mostly on pumping their jabs.<\/p>\n
Ajagba and Shaw traded stiff jabs with just over 15 seconds to go in the first round. Otherwise, neither fighter landed consequential punches in the opening three minutes.<\/p>\n
Keith Idec is a senior writer\/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Efe Ajagba fared better against an unbeaten boxer-puncher Saturday night than the last time he fought one. Two fights after his one-sided, unanimous-decision defeat to Frank Sanchez, Ajagba won what mostly amounted to a jabbing contest against previously undefeated Stephan Shaw by unanimous decision. Nigeria’s Ajagba was the aggressor for almost all 10 rounds, whereas …<\/p>\n