Jared Anderson (TKO 5) and Efe Ajagba (W DQ 4) Victorious in Tulsa

Toledo’s Jared Anderson, widely considered the best of the new crop of heavyweights, took care of business tonight on a Top Rank card in Tulsa, improving to 16-0 (15 KOs) with a fifth-round stoppage of teak-tough but limited Andriy Rudenko (35-7) who lost for the fifth time in his last nine starts. Anderson softened Rudenko up with body punches before a fusillade of unanswered head punches forced the referee to intervene at the 1:40 mark of the fifth stanza.

It was quick turnaround for Anderson, 23, who was extended the 10-round distance for the first time in his career in his previous bout eight weeks ago against Charles Martin. Prior to the stoppage, he had won every minute of every round against his 39-year-old Ukrainian foe who was hardly “the tough out for anyone” as claimed by the ESPN announcing crew, but had been stopped only once previously.

Co-Feature

The co-feature between Efe Ajagba and Zhan Kossobutskiy was an intriguing match-up on paper that proved to be a piece of junk which was entirely the fault of the Kazakhstan import, Kossobutskiy, who channeled the infamous Andrew Golota and got himself disqualified in the fourth round because of a series of low blows.

Kossobutskiy brought a fancy record for his North American debut (19-0, 18 KOs) but proved to be a plodding, short-armed heavyweight with a very low ceiling. He was out of his element against the six-foot-six Ajagba, the former Nigerian Olympian, who had a 3-inch height advantage and an 11-inch reach advantage.

Referee Chris Flores deducted two points from Kossobutskiy for low blows in round three, but that proved to be no deterrent. Ajagba advanced to 18-1 with his fourteenth win inside the distance. The official time was 0:33 in round four.

Other Bouts of Note

Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington, improved to 9-0 (5) with a unanimous decision over Mexico import Angel Contreras (13-7-2). The scores were 80-72 and 79-73 twice. Shu Shu is highly skilled, but lacks a big punch and that may keep him from reaching the highest pedestals of the sport.

In a ho-hum 8-round heavyweight affair, Tulsa native Jeremiah Milton improved to 11-0 (7) with a unanimous decision over 38-year-old Detroit trial horse Craig Lewis (15-7-1). The scores were 80-72 and 79-73 twice. Lewis valiantly huffed-and-puffed his way to the final bell. It was his sixth loss in his last seven starts with all of those losses coming against undefeated opponents.

Sona Akale, a 35-year-old Minnesota native with an MMA background, sprung an upset in an 8-round middleweight contest, saddling Nico Ali Walsh (8-1, 1 NC) with his first pro loss by way of a majority decision in a fight that could have gone either way. Akale (8-1) hadn’t previously defeated an opponent with a winning record.

In the lid-lifter, Bakhodir Jalolov, the gold medalist at super heavyweight for Uzbekistan in the Tokyo Olympics, is 13 for 13 with 13 knockouts as a professional after stopping Onoriode Ehwarieme in the opening round. Jalolov, a six-foot-seven southpaw, had his overmatched foe on the canvas three times before the bout was waived off. This bout aired exclusively on Top Rank’s youtube channel. According to prominent boxing writer Jake Donovan, a potential territorial dispute with another promoter compelled Top Rank to pull the imposing Jalolov from their main menu.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank via Getty Images

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