One of the most ridiculous moments in boxing occurred live on US TV last night as Curtis Harper left the ring as soon as the bell rang.
Harper was squaring off against Nigerian Efe Ajagba in a heavyweight encounter and did all the boxing formalities before bailing. He had his gloves and gear on, made his entrance, listened to the ref's pre-match instructions and touched gloves with his opponent.
Yet when the bout officially started, the 30-year old exited the ring in seconds and headed straight back to the dressing room. The commentators, much like fans in attendance, were in complete and utter disbelief at what they were seeing. I guarantee you'll never seen anything of the sort.
.@AjagbaEfe came ready for war, but #CurtisHarper said otherwise! ✌🏿 #ImOut #AjagbeHarper #PBConFS1
What the hell did we just watch. Bell rang to start the heavyweight fight between Efe Ajagba and Curtis Harper and Harper turned around and walked right out of the ring and back to the dressing room. On live tv.
Tuned in for a heavyweight fight on FS1 between top prospect Efe Ajagba and Curtis Harper. I am completely baffled. They literally went through introductions and referee instructions, and this man Curtis Harper walks the fuck out of the ring. Never seen that in my life.
Great performance by Curtis Harper.#PBConFS1
Without a single punch thrown, 24-year old Ajagba was given the easiest of victories as a result of disqualification, with Harper's record moving to 13-6.
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But he wasn't quite channeling a WWE heel/villain, where they roll out the ring and try to take off.
It's emerged that the reason he walked out was because of a compensation dispute and Harper feeling he warranted a better pay packet.
Curtis Harper said "They are not paying me enough" as his reason for running off from the fight.
If y’all are wondering I spoke to Harper and he said he walked out of the ring because he’s not getting paid enough to fight and that he wants respect. 🤦🏻♀️ #AjagbaHarper #PBConFS1
Curtis Harper was interviewed in the dressing room after this stunt. He said he wanted to ‘make a statement’ because he was not getting paid enough to face Efe Ajagba. Yeah, good luck fighting again here in the U.S. No promoter will work with you by pulling this bulls**t. #boxing
We're not sure he's going to be doing much boxing after this, but he could always take up walking as his new sport? He seems to have a real passion for it.
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Thoughts on Harper's antics?
Sound off in the comments.
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