Listen to the article
Nigeria’s Efe Ajagba recorded a disqualification win on Saturday when unbeaten prospect Zhan Kossobutskiy was tossed for excessive amount of low blows.
Kossobutskiy was deducted two points in round three and ultimately tossed by referee Chris Flores in round four in the contest which took place at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Kazakhstan found a home for his right hand in the opening round versus an initially passive Ajagba.
But it didn’t take long for momentum to shift as Ajagba repeatedly hurt Kossobutskiy to the body in an entertaining round two.
The 34-year-old Kazakhstani southpaw–who made his U.S. debut—twice turned away as if he was hit low and sought help from the referee but came back to land a right hand later in the round but Ajagba was riding high on confidence.
That changed in round three as Kossobutskiy landed two consecutive left uppercuts well below the border, which forced Ajagba to drop to his knees in pain.
Time was called as Flores escorted Kossobutskiy around the ring to inform the judges to deduct one point from his overall score. A similar sequence occurred moments later, at which point Kossobutskiy was warned that he was on the verge of disqualification.
Rio 2016 Olympic quarter-finalists, Ajagba, was warned later in the round for a low blow of his own though it appeared to be more incidental than intentional.
Kossobutskiy was clearly checked out at the start of the fourth round following a deliberate low blow forced Ajagba to the canvas, as Kossobutskiy strutted to a neutral corner well aware that he was on his way to the loss.
Meanwhile, Ajagba (18-1, 13KOs) has now picked up his third consecutive win after an October 2021 loss to Frank Sanchez in Las Vegas.
The 29-year-old has yet to reemerge as a heavyweight to watch but is slowly boxing his way back into contention.
