Martin hurts Ajagba before right hand shifts fight
Efe Ajagba (21-1-1, 15 KOs) stops Charles Martin (30-5-1, 27 KOs) in the fourth round after surviving a hard left hand in the third. Ajagba reset his feet and answered with steady pressure and right hands that changed the fight.
Aneeded a clean, decisive performance after the Bakole draw. Martin brought the straight left and veteran timing, but the same defensive lapses showed once the pace picked up and the punches came back.
The first round was about jab discipline and ring positioning. Martin probed with the lead hand and shot the left down the middle. Ajagba advanced behind a high guard, touching with his jab and lining up the right. Neither man overcommitted. It was a measured opening round at mid-range.
In the second, Martin invested in body shots and mixed in a right hook upstairs. He forced Ajagba to reset his feet and respect the counter left. His shot selection improved, and he controlled distance in stretches.
The third round snapped the fight into focus.
Martin landed a hard left that buckled Ajagba. Clean connection. Ajagba’s balance dipped and his head rose on the line. He responded the way a seasoned heavyweight should. A straight right hand split Martin’s guard and dropped him. Ajagba followed with another right and a short left hook inside. Martin’s feet narrowed, his shoulders squared, and he absorbed heavy counters before the bell. That was balance, timing, and a right hand thrown with conviction.
The finish came in the fourth. Ajagba stepped behind the jab, tightened his guard, and applied steady pressure. He kept Martin backing straight up instead of turning off the ropes. Another right hand put Martin down a second time. Martin beat the count, but his legs were unsteady and his guard separated under combination fire. A final right hand drove him to the ropes. A tight left hook sealed it. The referee stepped in.
Technically, the lesson remains. Martin can punch with anyone when fresh, but once he commits, his foot placement betrays him. Ajagba maintained balance and let the right hand travel without smothering his work.
The co-feature ended with even cleaner mechanics.
Umar Dzambekov established range immediately against Ahmed Elbiali. He worked behind a sharp jab, kept his lead foot outside, and dug left hands to the body. Elbiali needed inside work and physical exchanges. He never secured position.
In the second round, Dzambekov strung together left hands that lifted Elbiali’s guard. He stayed compact and patient. When Elbiali squared up, Dzambekov drove a right uppercut through the middle. Elbiali went down flat and did not rise. One punch. Correct distance. Full extension.
Ajagba remains upright and can be outmaneuvered by a disciplined mover, but his power is real and his engine held under stress. Dzambekov showed balance, body work, and finishing instinct. Sterner opposition will test both, particularly against opponents who control range and counter in combination.
For now, Ajagba stays in the heavyweight mix. Dzambekov advances with clean fundamentals and a punch that carries.