Lagos socialite and businessman, Emeka ‘E-Money’ Okonkwo, has confirmed he will honour his pledge of N50m to social media comedian, Carter Efe, following his unanimous decision victory over street artiste and ZaZoo crooner, Habeeb ‘Portable’ Badmus, at the Chaos in the Ring 4 event on Friday night at the Balmoral Hall, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
E-Money reaffirmed his commitment after Balmoral Group Promotions CEO, Ezekiel Adamu, put the question to him at the end of the night.
“You know we put our money where our mouth is, and so congratulations Carter on your win. N50 million for you,” E-Money said.
Adamu, on his part, said the event had delivered on all its promises.
“We promised Chaos in the Ring and we have delivered very entertaining fights tonight. There is more coming, thanks to everyone that made this a success and to the fighters for the great display,” he said.
In the co-main event, Godday Appah, was crowned the new WBO Africa cruiserweight champion after defeating Ezra Arenyeka by split decision.
The bout had been billed as a symbolic WBO Peace Fight between the Itsekiri and Ijaw communities of the Niger Delta.
The same night, Basit Adebayo claimed the WBO Africa title with a unanimous decision victory over former WABU champion, Loren Japhet.
Friday’s result was the culmination of a month-long verbal war between Efe and Portable, who had arrived at the event with considerable pedigree, having previously beaten Charles Okocha and Speed Darlington in celebrity exhibition bouts to win two belts.
The ZaZoo crooner made no secret of his intentions, telling Efe directly, “I will use you to collect my third belt. Charles Okocha was bigger than you, Speed Darlington was bigger than you and I beat them. I will beat you now.”
Efe was unmoved, warning his opponent that the night would end quickly for him.
“One punch and you fall,” he replied.
When the two finally met in the ring, however, it was the skit-maker who imposed himself from the opening bell.
Portable came out throwing his trademark wild, erratic punches but Efe, the taller man, responded calmly with uppercuts and sharp body shots.
Portable continued to swing wide and clinch across the second and third rounds, but Efe grew sharper as the fight wore on, landing consistently clean combinations that left little doubt about the outcome.
All three judges scored the bout 27-30, handing Efe a comfortable unanimous decision and the celebrity boxing crown.