Heavyweight Efe Ajagba (17-1, 13 KOs) did just enough to win a boring 10 round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Stephan Shaw (18-1, 13 KOs) on Saturday night in a disappointing headliner at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York.
The 6’6″ Ajagba was the aggressor throughout, and he took control of the fight from the seventh round, outworking a timid-looking Shaw to dominate the final four rounds to get the victory.
The judge’s scores were as follows:
- 96-94
- 96-94
- 96-94
Fans at ringside booed periodically during the final three rounds due to the lack of action from both heavyweights.
Undercard results
Heavyweight Jonnie Rice (16-6-1, 10 KOs) stopped 2016 Olympian Guido “The Gladiator” Vianello (10-1-1, 9 KOs) by a seventh round TKO as a result of a cut the Italian fighter suffered.
Rice landed a massive right hand on the left eye of Vianello that immediately resulted in a river of blood streaming out.
At the start of the seventh, referee Benjy Estevez stopped the action and had the ringside doctor examine the cut, and he recommended the contest best halted.
The referee Estevez initially thought the cut was from a headbutt and that he would have the fight go to the cards. But fortunately, a commission member spoke with Estevez.
Moments later, the referee watched a replay of the sequence from the sixth round in which Vianello suffered the cut from a right hand from Rice. Estevez then rightly gave Rice a seventh round knockout victory.
There wasn’t much action in the fight. Vianello was throwing a lot of jabs and sweeping right hands with not much power behind them.
The 270+ lb Rice paced himself, throwing almost nothing until landing a big right hand in the third round. There still wasn’t much action to speak of until Rice landed a big right to the left eye of Vianello in the sixth round that caused the cut.
It was surprising that the referee didn’t notice immediately that Vianello was cut from the punch because it was obvious that Rice’s shot had done the damage.
In a thrilling war, featherweight Abraham ‘El Super’ Nova (22-1, 15 KOs) got back to his winning ways, beating always tough Adam ‘Blunose’ Lopez (16-4, 6 KOs) by a 10 round unanimous decision. The scores were 97-91, 98-90, and 98-90.
Nova, 28, knocked Lopez down in the sixth round after hurting him with a left hook to the head. The shot had Lopez holding on, trying to keep from getting hit with further punches.
Although it looked like a push, the referee still scored it as a knockdown because Lopez was clearly hurt from the initial punch.
In the tenth round, both fighters traded big shots as they went toe-to-toe; Nova hurt Lopez with a hard left in the final seconds that had him out on his feet. Luckily for Lopez, the bell rang before Nova could finish him.
Undefeated lightweight prospect Haven Brady Jr. (9-0, 4 KOs) had a tough time tonight, beating Ruben Cervera (13-4, 11 KOs) by an eight round unanimous decision.
Brady looked good early on, but Cervera put a lot of pressure on him at the midpoint and came on in the championship rounds to make it interesting. The scores were 78-74, 79-73, and 80-72.
Light heavyweight prospect Dante Benjamin Jr. (5-0, 3 KOs) looked like a cyclone in the ring, hurting Emmanueal Austin (6-1, 6 KOs) early, dropping him, and getting him out of there in the first round. The referee jumped in and halted the bout at the 2:50 mark.
Featherweight prospect Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (6-0, 3 KOs) boxed his way to a lackluster six round unanimous decision over a game but limited journeyman Juan Antonio Lopez (17-13-1, 7 KOs). The scores were 60-54, 60-54, and 60-54.
Big punching welterweight prospect Brian Norman Jr. (23-0, 19 KOs) defeated Rodrigo Coria (10-5, 2 KOs) by an eight round unanimous decision. The judges’ scores were 79-72, 77-74, and 77-74.
Norman Jr tried hard for an early stoppage in the first, emptying his gas tank, but he couldn’t do it. Later in the right, Norman dropped Coria in the eighth round. Surprisingly, Coria came back to hurt Norman in the round.
Light welterweight prospect Bryce Mills (11-1, 4 KOs) defeated Margarito Hernandez (3-4-1) by an exciting six round unanimous decision. The judges scored it 60-54, 60-54, and 60-54.