Boxer exits ring seconds after fight begins

PBC boxer Curtis Harper leaves ring after rumors of not being paid enough for fight last Friday in Minneapolis.

Kevin Korbel
Sports Editor

It was another ordinary night fighting for fellow boxers and boxing fans last Friday night. The fans in the arena were on their feet afterthey’d just got done witnessing an unbelievable bout in the super welterweight class at the 154 lbs weight class between Jamontay Clark (13-0) and Jeison “Banana” Rosario (15-1-1) go a full ten rounds.

But just as fans were getting settled in to enjoy the heavyweight bout between Curtis Harper and Efe Ajagba on Friday night, the fight was over.

Seconds after the boxers touched gloves and the bell rang at their Premier Boxing Championship bout last Friday in Minneapolis, MN, Harper turned around and exited the ring – leaving the crowd and his opponent stunned.

Harper walked out of the ring in protest because he believed he wasn’t getting paid enough to fight Ajagba, according to FOX Sports.

The 30-year-old told Bobby Brunette from the Minnesota Boxing Commission he wanted to see the contract he signed prior to the fight or he wasn’t going to participate, according to ESPN. When Brunette said his agreement was already filed to the state, Harper walked out.

Harper is likely to be suspended by Premier Boxing and will likely not get paid for the fight, according to ESPN.

By default, Ajagba, of Nigeria, won his first heavyweight bout. The crowd booed and mocked Harper as he left the ring and hit the showers last Friday night.

It was very unfortunate something like this happened, especially on a night where the crowd had witnessed unbelievable fights throughout the whole night.

One of the best fights of the night was at the Super Welterweight division at the 155lbs. weight class. Antonio Urista (10-2), also known as Wee Wee, took on the lengthy, six-foot six-inch tall giant in Sebastian Fundora (9-0) in this bout between two talented boxers.

From the very beginning, both of them looked to try and knock out their opponent out quickly, with a barrage of fists getting connecting by the following fighters.

At the end of round three, it looked as if Fundora had the match one with Urista teetering on the as he took a barrage of fists to the face. Urista, who’d at one point looked to not have anything left in the tank, almost landed a knock out blow to the head before the sound of the bell separated the two animals off each other.

While Urista hung on throughout the match, it was to no avail, as Fundora was the one holding his hand up in victory after landing a storm of fists onto Urista for the TKO victory.

This fight was yet the tipping point of what was yet to come. In the super welterweight weight class at the 154 lbs weight class between Jamontay Clark (13-0) and Jeison “Banana” Rosario (15-1-1). In this fight between two unbelievable combatants, the fight was back-and-forth by the time the bell rang.

As Rosario and Clark were both connecting on punches to the body, Rosario was able to escape a blow to the head, and counter with a punch to Clark so hard to the face that he flew out of the ring, struggling to get back inside of the ring and getting back on his feet.

Surprisingly though, both these fighters were equally matched, and were able to fight a full 10 rounds. As a result of the fight, Rosario won the hearts of the judges to clinch the unanimous decision victory.

The main event on this night was a fight between Jamal “Shango” James (24-1) and Mahonry Montes (35-7-1). The headline of this bout was James coming back to his hometown of Minneapolis, MN to fight, and the hometown boy didn’t fail to disappoint.

Jamal James ended a 25-punch salvo and his second straight hometown victory by second-round knockout in the main event of PBC on FS1 on Friday night. He crumpled Mahonry Montes with a crippling left hook to the stomach and a head-swiveling, follow-up right uppercut before a packed house at the Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

After a night full of controversy and questions, the crowd left this night with an empty feeling inside of them, even after witnessing 12 other great fights on this night. This goes to show fans that no matter how often you watch a sport like boxing, once every while you’ll witness something you’ve never seen before.

For more photos from the night, check out the gallery here.

Feature photo: Efe Ajagba (left) had his hand raised in victory after his opponent, Curtis Harper, walked out of the ring, seconds after touching gloves wth Ajagba. (Photo by Mansoor Ahmad | MSU Reporter)