The Lake Tahoe, Nevada event on November 4, 2023, served up some knockouts that would have made a pacifist angry. “The Silent Roller” Ajagba rolled over Goodall with the subtlety of a freight train on a mission, while Muratalla and Torres turned the ring into their own personal demolition derby.
After a decade-long grudge simmering like a pot of expired beans, Efe Ajagba (19-1, 14 KOs) made Joe Goodall (10-2-1, 9 KOs) eat his gloves along with a healthy serving of canvas. Ajagba, the Nigerian nightmare for his opponents, retained his WBC Silver heavyweight title by stopping Goodall in a scene that would’ve made any Hollywood director jealous for not thinking of it first.
From the get-go, Ajagba threw jabs and right hands like they were going out of style, but Goodall wasn’t just there to admire the architecture of the Tahoe Blue Event Center. He managed to get in close a few times, possibly to share some secret Aussie barbeque recipes, but that was the extent of it. By the third round, Ajagba was serving uppercuts that had Goodall wobbling like a kangaroo on a unicycle. A one-two punch combo in the fourth, followed by a series of blows, had the referee stepping in to save Goodall from becoming a permanent part of the décor.
Ajagba, like a philosopher after a few too many, reflected on his journey back from an injury and credited his team for turning him into the boxing equivalent of a wrecking ball. He’s ready for the next victim, er… opponent, to step up.
Now let’s talk about Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (19-0, 16 KOs), who put the lightweight division on red alert. In his co-feature bout against Diego Torres (18-1, 17 KOs), Muratalla showcased his own brand of ring violence that was more one-sided than a debate against a mute. By the eighth round, Torres’ head was snapping back like a Pez dispenser thanks to a left hook from Muratalla, leading to a knockout that had the ref waving it off faster than a celebrity dodges paparazzi.
Elsewhere on the card, Henry Lebron and William Foster III had a game of fisticuffs with Lebron coming out on top after some close rounds that had the scorecards looking more split than a banana at an ice cream shop. And let’s not forget Angel Rebollar, who must have been a magician in a past life because he made Omar Rosario’s undefeated record disappear with a unanimous decision win that left Rosario chasing shadows all night.
Lindolfo Delgado and Luis Hernandez turned their fight into a personal slugfest, with Delgado flipping the off switch on Hernandez in the fourth round. In the heavyweight division, Brandon Moore decided to introduce Robert Simms to the mat with a right hand that had more chop than a karate dojo.
We also had a heavyweight draw between Antonio “El Gigante” Mireles and Skylar Lacy, which proved that sometimes, even a ton of punches can’t separate two Goliaths. Then there was Charlie Sheehy, who clearly didn’t believe in sharing as he hogged all the winning rounds against Jesus Vasquez Jr.
Not to be left out, Gabriel Garcia smothered Joshua Montoya with the kind of pressure that would make a deep-sea diver squirm, securing a unanimous decision. And if quick endings are your thing, Javier Martinez turned the lights out on Isaiah Wise in the first round with a trio of knockdowns that had everyone questioning if Wise’s boots were filled with lead.
Finally, Christian Avalos and Estevan Partida scrapped it out with Avalos edging a majority decision, proving once again that in boxing, what happens in Tahoe, definitely doesn’t stay in Tahoe.