Antonio Tarver, right, lands a punch to the face of Lateef Kayode,
of Nigeria, in the 11th round of a cruiserweight boxing match in
Carson, Calif., Saturday, June 2, 2012. The fight ended in a draw.
Nigeria’s WBO Super Middle Weight title champion, Isaac Ekpo has again proven his ability to defend his title after he beat Burkina Faso’s Jules Kabore at the indoor sports hall of the National stadium in Lagos state, South-West Nigeria.
Ekpo emerged
winner of the 10 round non-title bout after Kabore retired in the 5th round of the fight.
He came into the fight with a 27 wins 2 loss 20 ko’s record while his opponent had 11 victories, 8 by ko’s.
The Nigerian dominated the fight which was seen as a rematch of the last commonwealth bout which was won by Ekpo after he defeated Kabore in a knock out on the third round.
Both fighters approached the fight cautiously, showing so much respect for each other and throwing in jabs intermittently in the first round.
In the second round, with the support of the home fans, Ekpo took the fight to the Burkinababe, throwing punches at random, with his opponent doing too little to reply.
Ekpo, who is a commomwealth silver medallist was clinical in his move, while Kabore avoided throwing enough punches for fear of getting caught, often being walked to the corner by the agility of Ekpo.
He was constantly humiliated by the left lands from the WBO champion who constantly displayed some dancing steps while releasing jabs.
Another match of the day saw Jamiu Olabore beat Pelumi Sodubi on technical decision in the welter weight 6 round challenge.
The decision was reached when Pelumi jab sent Jamiu to the floor despite referee’s instruction to halt fight.
Apart from the incident, Pelumi had in the first round head butted his opponent, sending blood gushing from his nostrils.
In the light welter weight fight, Stanley Eribo sent Isiaka Yusuf to the canvass by technical knock out also in a 6 round bout.
Olaide Fijabi was too good for Saheed Olayinka who was beaten by knock out in the national light welter weight category.
Fijabi was impressive in his hook, as he constantly landed his punches with precision on a defenseless Olayinka.
The most impressive fight of the night was the 8th round bout between Ottoh Joseph and Nurudeen Fatai. Joseph’s moves was descibed by commentator Ladi Edigbere as a boxer who will make exploits in his career.Joseph dismissed his challenger by unanimous decision, at the same time stealing the show in the fight.
He also won the Mojisola Ogunsanya trophy and a 1 million naira cash prize as the best boxer of the night.
Wahid Usman beat Taofik Bisuga by technicak knock out in the national feather weight challenge.
The fight was organised by Gotv.