American heavyweight Curtis Harper last night exited the ring just seconds after the start of his televised fight.
He was set to take on Nigerian Efe Ajagba, however Harper's discontent with the proposed purse for the bout led to this strange protest.
First time I’ve ever seen this: heavyweight boxer Curtis Harper walks out of the ring at the opening bell for his fight against Efe Ajagba on live TV! Ajagba wins by DQ without a punch thrown #PBConFS1 pic.twitter.com/U8EH9Vaduf
— Ryan Songalia (@ryansongalia) August 25, 2018
Entering last night Harper had a 13-5 record, while Ajagba had won all five of his professional fights by knockout.
The Minneapolis crowd were clearly unhappy with the actions of Florida native, directing some confused looks in his direction as he exited the arena.
It is perhaps a first in the world of boxing, with the fight commentators saying that they could not recall a similar incident.
Clearly not one to miss an opportunity for his client, Efe Ajagba's fight promoter Richard Schaefer had this to say about the incident to ESPN.
He defined what the most feared man in boxing means - no punch necessary. A look and the opponent runs, runs out of the ring. This was legendary. We waited a long time to have another heavyweight who instils fear in his opponents by just being in the ring and looking at them.
The last time a fighter instilled that kind of fear in an opponent was Mike Tyson. The heavyweight division has a new star, and his name is Efe. No doubt that he is the biggest puncher in the sport.
He won the knockout award at the Rio Olympics for the most spectacular knockout. He is must-see TV, and all of us are excited to follow his journey in the heavyweight division, which undoubtedly will lead him to the heavyweight championship of the world.
Ajagba was awarded a knockout victory as a result of Harper's protest, bringing his overall record to 6-0.
