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The moment when Efe Ajagba made a boxer quit at the opening bell
It was an August night in Minnesota and those in attendance at the Minneapolis Armory were readying for a night of boxing.
There were none of the big names on the card but that did not matter; this was an event that was going to be on television, something that really happened with bouts from either of the Twin Cities. The old building could hold up to nearly 8,500 people, but it was hard to tell how many were there.
But those present had come to see the fights, maybe even see a big name somewhere in the crowd, or a future big name somewhere on the undercard. They had reason to believe: seven undefeated fighters lined up against opponents who were, shall we say ‘handpicked’; and there was Willie Monroe Jr, of whom the hardcore fans remembered his uncle; and then Jamal James, too, who was local and nearly undefeated with just one loss against 23 wins.
And then there was Efe Ajagba. Nearly six-and-a-half feet tall, from Nigeria but living in Texas, former top amateur. A potential future heavyweight champion, even if he was a little light for the weight at 236.5lbs when the big guys in the division routinely weighed more than 250lbs. But he still had bones to grow, and time, and he might fill out the promise of that frame as that time went on.
And, besides, if you were watching him that night, you could say in the future if things worked out well that you had once seen a heavyweight champion of the world in action. That would certainly be a thing to tell the grandkids.
No one really knew who Curtis Harper, his opponent, was. It was doubtful that anyone really cared. Harper had signed for the bout twelve days before and arrived in Minneapolis with a 13-5 record, nine inside, and not much of a chance.
The thirteen wins said little, but the five losses said much more: stoppages suffered against Yasmany Consuegra, Gerald Washington, and Zhilei Zhang. At six-feet-two-inches tall and weighing just over 250lbs, Harper looked out of shape, the kind of fighter looking to make a bit of a payday in a fight he was seemingly set to lose.
The fight was set for six rounds. Harper was introduced first, in purple shorts with pink trim, and he stuck his tongue out at the camera. In the opposite corner, Ajagba wore shorts adorned with the Nigerian flag.
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They came together, and they touched gloves, then went back to their corners. The commentator warned that no one should blink because Ajagba had knocked out four of his five professional opponents in the first round.
The bell rang and, as Ajagba stepped forwards, Harper turned and lifted his left leg, then slid it between the ropes. There was a moment of confusion and then Harper followed it, his back to Ajagba, and he was gone, walking down the side of the ring and back onto the walkway upon which he had come down moments before. He moved with the stride of a petulant child being sent to their room.
The commentators were aghast.
“Wait? What?” they said, almost in unison. “I can’t believe it! He walked out of the ring!”
Not looking back, Harper walked to the end of the walkway, crossed over to a stage area, and turned to go back towards his dressing room. There was shouting from the crowd, all directed at him.
The video went viral. There were questions over whether Harper had been afraid, whether he had seen Ajagba in front of him and decided not to go ahead, whether Ajagba’s growing reputation had burrowed its way into his fear centre.
No one knew, but the mist around the story began to clear a few days later.
DAZNWriting on The Sporting News, author Thomas Hauser said that it had been a protest by Harper. Harper had reportedly agreed a contract for $6,000 to fight Ajagba and been assured that the match would not be on television. But upon arriving in Minneapolis, his contract still unsigned, Harper was informed that the fight would be on television.
So he walked.
"I pretty much made up my mind in the dressing room,” Harper told Hauser, “but I wasn't sure. Then, when we touched gloves and I saw one of the people who hadn't done right by me in the other corner, that was it."
While Harper’s actions made the biggest impact on the night, that was not the end of the story. He did not fight again for three years but when he did, he lost a points decision to Mikheil Bakhtidze over six rounds in Atlanta. He lost again seven months later, also on points, to Brandon Moore, a 11-0 fighter, in a bout that was later made into a No Contest. He then won a majority decision over the 8-0 Christian Thun a few months after that.
The losses began to pile up, though, with stoppages against the 11-0 Bakhodir Jalolov, the 10-1-1 Guido Vianello, and the 7-0 Richard Torrez Jr. He lost on points, too, to Damian Knyba in the middle of all that. But then, last year, Harper won four in a row against a slate of opposition that seemed, shall we say, ‘handpicked’. He’s fighting again next month, against the 7-14-2 Dell Long, in Nashville.
Ajagba has ground on since that night in Minneapolis. He has won fourteen since, nine inside, and lost just once on points to another undefeated fighter in Frank Sanchez. He last fought against the same Guido Vanelli in Corpus Christi in April last year. But Ajagba, unlike Harper, won this one – a split decision over twelve rounds.
This Saturday, Ajagba fights the Britain-based Congolese fighter Martin Bakole in what may be a must-win fight for both men.
But it may be that no matter what happens, it might be his non-match against Curtis Harper that remains to fans Ajagba’s most-memorable moment in the ring.
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