By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten heavyweight prospect Efe Ajagba of Nigeria will be taking on Brian Howard of Atlanta Georgia in a 10-round tilt this Saturday, April, 10. The fight from Tulsa, Oklahoma can be seen live in America on ESPN and ESPN Deportes while those in the UK and Ireland can catch it on Premier Sports and BoxNation. Ajagba last fought in September when he beat Jonathan Rice by a 10-round unanimous decision. Howard last saw action in November when he was stopped in the fourth round by Frank Sanchez for the WBO NABO Heavyweight Crown.
The 26-year-old Ajagba is a young, hard-hitting prospect who now fights out of Stafford, Texas. He climbs through the ropes with a perfect record of 14-0 with 11 big Kos. He’s obviously got good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 78.6 per cent. He’s also got plenty of size as he stands 6-feet-6-inches tall with an 85-inch reach. Ajagba enjoyed a fine amateur career and made it to the quarterfinal of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in the super heavyweight division.
He also won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland in 2014. Ajagba turned pro in 2017 a year after the Olympics and has been pretty busy ever since. He’s fought 14 times but has boxed only 50 pro rounds due to his exceptional power. He’s been the distance just twice as Ali Eren Demirezen took him 10 rounds in July,2019. The only other man he failed to stop was Curtis Harper in August, 2018 and that’s because Harper was disqualified after walking out of the ring before the opening bell rang.
Ajagba’s only recognizable opponents up to now have been Razvan Cojanu and Amir Mansour, whose corner stopped the fight after the second round in March, 2019. But while he hasn’t fought any top rate opponents as of yet, at least each one of his foes entered the ring with a winning record. Ajagba’s chin hasn’t really been tested but it should be noted Iago Kiladze decked him in the third round in December, 2019 before being stopped in the fifth, so the jury’s still out on how well he can take a punch.
Howard is now 40 years old and carries a mark of 15-4 with 12 Kos. He made his pro debut in 2010 after a short amateur career and has boxed just 63 rounds since. His losses came at the hands of Harvey Jolly by third-round stoppage in 2012, by Umal Salamov via ninth-round stoppage in 2018 in a shot at the vacant IBF North American Light Heavyweight Title, by eight-round unanimous decision to Richard Rivera in 2019 and the stoppage defeat to Sanchez the last time out.
His biggest wins have been against the likes of Chris Stallworth, Alex Guerrero, Phil Williams and Carlos Negron. Howard stands 6-3-inches tall with a 75-inch reach so gives up three inches in height to Ajagba as well as 10 inches in reach. Howard has decent power with a current knockout ratio of 63.2 per cent but he simply comes in second best in just about every possible category to Ajagba.
Prediction…
At 40 years old and having been stopped in three of his four losses, including his last fight in November, the odds are stacked against Howard. And then we have to factor in the 10-inch reach disadvantage. Howard has a puncher’s chance but it would have to be the perfect punch. I’m expecting Ajagba to emerge with another victory, likely by stoppage.
