Ekundayo beats Thain to emerge IBF European champion

Former African Boxing Union champion Nigeria’s Larry Ekundayo defeated his challenger, Filipino-Scottish boxer, John Thain to claim the International Boxing Federation (IBF) European welterweight title at the York Hall, Bethnal Green in United Kingdom on Friday night.em Lawal

Ekundayo in an impressive performance won the contest unanimously, with all three judges scoring him as winner.

In a fight that lasted 12 rounds, Ekundayo showed class as he outboxed Thain who suffered a broken nose and was left bleeding for about 6 rounds.

While the Filipino-Scottish boxer looked worn out as the rounds progressed the Nigerian did not break sweat and looked confident and agile till the last bell.

The victory over Thain has made Ekundayo the highest ranked Nigerian boxer in the world and also positioned him for a world title shot.

Ekundayo now hopes to challenge for the world title and in a video made available after the fight. Speaking in Yoruba, Ekundayo said that he wants to defend his title in Nigeria.

Ekundayo hopes to visit Nigeria with his belt soon to thank Nigerians for their support and has promised to give back to Nigeria by helping young boxers develop their talent to international standards.

“First and foremost I would like to say massive thank you to MTK for giving me this opportunity to fight for this title. Before I go any further, I’m going to quickly say this to my motherland “Naija a o win football, now a ti gba IBF, European title. Now, mo n gbebo ni Nigeria k’awa defend e”. Meaning “we did not win football (World Cup), now we have won IBF title and I will be bringing it to Nigeria to defend my title.

“John Thain is a really tough fighter, I put every little thing I got into the fight. I hit him really hard and felt it in my knuckles but was surprised he is still standing. I tried not to punch myself out and told myself it’s good to get the job done in 12 rounds. A lot of things that me and my team worked on really paid off,” Ekundayo said.