Beau Rivage Resort & Casino,Biloxi, Mississippi - In a cruiserweight contest, Efe Apochi (8-0, 8KOs) put away Earl Newman (10-2-1, 7KOs) in the seventh round of a brawl.
Efe is friends with heavyweight contender Efe Ajagba. Both are trained by veteran coach Ronnie Shields.
Both were picking their spots in the first round, but Apochi was pushing forward and looking for big shots right away. Newman was in serious trouble in the second round, barely survived and fought toe to toe with Apochi on unsteady legs.
They went to war with big punches during most of the third, with Apochi landing the bigger shots to rock Newman, who never stopped coming back.
Newman was just trying to box in the fourth, while Apochi was slowing down a little while still throwing the bigger punches.
Apochi was controlling the action in the fifth and sixth with bigger punches.
In the seventh, Apochi cracked Newman with a hard combination that sent Newman down against the ropes. He barely beat the count and the referee waved off the contest.
Also on the card, former WBO super middleweight title challenger Habib Ahmed (27-1-1, 18 KOs) won an eight round unanimous decision over Juan De Angel (21-11-1, 19 KOs). The scores were, 80-72, 80-72, 80-72.
Welterweight prospect Amon Rashidi (7-0, 5 KOs) stopped Juan Jesus Garces (19-25, 13 KOs) in the fourth round.