In one of the most bizarre things you’ll see in boxing this or any year, heavyweight Curtis Harper got gloved up, got his gear all on, got into the ring with prospect Efe Ajagba, got the referee’s instructions, waited for the bell to sound...
...and then walked out of the ring.
.@AjagbaEfe came ready for war, but #CurtisHarper said otherwise! ✌ #ImOut #AjagbeHarper #PBConFS1 pic.twitter.com/YaJkKPhXK2
— PBC (@premierboxing) August 25, 2018
PBC’s Jordan Hardy had this after the incident:
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
— Jordan Hardy (@PBCJordanHardy) August 25, 2018
Harper, 30, is a journeyman fighter whose record falls to 13-6 (9 KO) with this loss, which is officially a disqualification. It would seem unlikely he’ll get paid at all for this, plus it’s not like his career prospects were particularly great to begin with. More likely than him getting any newfound respect, he’ll just not be fighting anymore. Who’s going to book someone with a 13-6 record who has shown he might just not fight at all?
But he felt he had something to say with this move, and he said it. So that’s that. It was said.