Efe Ajagba Dominates In Win Over Joe Goodall

Efe Ajagba (19-1, 14 KOs) picked up his third win of the year with a stoppage victory over Joe Goodall (10-2-1, 9 KOs) in round four. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to halt the contest at the 0:50 mark. The Top Rank promoted fight took place at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Nevada, USA, and was broadcast by ESPN+ for those in the United States.

Ajagba made use of his longer reach early on to jab and keep Goodall at bay. As the rounds went on, Goodall struggled to close the distance. This allowed Ajagba to not only continue jabbing away, but also land power shots that had a visible impact on Goodall. By the third round, Ajagba’s punches were stunning his opponent. However, Goodall managed to stay standing.

Less than a minute into round four, Ajagba landed a right hand that shook Goodall. Ajagba continued to throw and land a mixture of uppercuts and hooks until referee Weeks stepped into to wave off the fight. Their last meeting had taken place in the amateurs where both men faced each other at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, a bout Goodall won by decision. With the win, Ajagba has now evened the score with Goodall.

THAT’S HOW YOU DO IT.

🇳🇬 @AjagbaEfe just put the division on notice. pic.twitter.com/5Cbmmgit6L

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) November 5, 2023

Post-fight comments

“It’s been long,” said Ajagba after the fight. “I was out of boxing for a long time. When I came back with Stephen Shaw, my confidence was not there. I had just come back from surgery, and I had to get back into shape. But right now, I came back with full confidence. That’s why I took him out. [My team] pushed me in training camp. They made me work extremely hard in this camp to make sure I win the fight. I sparred a lot of different guys to make me stay strong.”

“Whoever they offer me to fight, I’m ready to go. I will go back with my team to talk about that.”

Ajagba-Goodall undercard results

In a ten-round lightweight clash, Raymond Muratalla (19-0, 16 KOs) stopped Diego Torres in round eight. Torres went to the canvas and got up but referee Celestino Ruiz determined he was not fit to continue, waving the fight off at the 1:45 mark.

Christian Avalos (1-1-2, 0 KOs) won a majority decision over Estevan Partida (1-2-1, 0 KOs). One judge had the four-round lightweight bout 38-38 with the other two seeing it 40-36 and 39-37.

Henry Lebrón (19-0, 10 KOs) won a majority decision against William Foster III (16-1, 10 KOs, 1 NC) in a ten-round super featherweight fight. While one judge had it 95-95, the other two saw it 99-91 and 96-94.

In super lightweight action, Angel Rebollar (8-3, 3 KOs) won a unanimous decision against Omar Rosario (11-1, 3 KOs). All judges had the eight-round fight 78-74.

Lindolfo Delgado (19-0, 14 KOs) knocked out Luis Hernandez (23-4, 20 KOs) in the fourth round of their eight-round super lightweight bout. Hernandez went down once before referee Ruiz stopped the contest at the 1:53 mark.

Brandon Moore (13-0, 8 KOs, 1 NC) made his Top Rank debut with a unanimous decision win over Robert Simms (12-4-1, 3 KOs). All judges had the eight-rounder 80-71. Simms went down once in round four.

A six-rounder between heavyweights Antonio Mireles (8-0-1, 7 KOs) and Skylar Lacy (7-0-1, 5 KOs) ended in a majority draw. One judge had Lacy winning 58-56 while the other two had it 57-57.

Charlie Sheehy (8-0, 5 KOs) beat Jesus Vasquez Jr. (10-2, 2 KOs) via unanimous decision. All judges had this six-round lightweight fight were 60-54.

Gabriel Garcia (10-0, 6 KOs) beat Joshua Montoya (6-4-2, 0 KOs) via unanimous decision. Scores for this six-round super featherweight clash were 60-54 and 59-55 (x2).

In middleweight action, Javier Martinez (9-0-1, 3 KOs) won by first round knockout against Isaiah Wise (11-3-2, 6 KOs). Wise went to the canvas three times before referee Robert Hoyle stopped the fight at the 2:02 mark.