•Carter Efe
Social media comedian and streamer, Carter Efe, has rebuffed a comparison to heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua, insisting his ring name is Carter Mayweather.
He made the declaration during his post-fight interview at the Chaos in the Ring 4 event held at the Balmoral Hall, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, last night.
Efe had just defeated street artiste Habeeb ‘Portable’ Badmus by unanimous decision when a member of the audience called out the heavyweight champion’s name in his direction, reports Saturday PUNCH.
“Who called me Anthony Joshua? My name is Carter Mayweather,” he said, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.
The declaration came moments after he described the scale of his own transformation following the win.
“I am feeling like an international world star,” he said.
The comedian, who likened himself to Floyd Mayweather, widely regarded as one of the greatest defensive boxers of all time, backed the comparison with a dominant three-round display that left little doubt about the outcome.
“The fight was so easy. By the first round, I had made his face swell up. By the second round, he was already shaking. Third round, he fell,” he said.
All three judges scored the bout 27-30 in his favour, stripping Portable of his status as celebrity boxing king.
The ZaZoo crooner had previously beaten Charles Okocha and Speed Darlington to claim two belts and had entered the ring promising Efe would be his third victim.
Flushed with victory, Efe declared himself an international star and said he had ambitions to take his boxing career beyond Nigeria.
“I just believed in God. If you believe in God, anything can happen. I want to try this again in an international way. I know we are going to get there one day,” he said.
Asked whether he would grant Portable a rematch, Efe was noncommittal.
“I will think about it. Let me go and rest first,” he said.
The night also delivered a financial windfall. Lagos socialite and businessman Emeka ‘E-Money’ Okonkwo confirmed he would honour a pre-fight pledge of N50m to the new celebrity boxing champion.
“You know we put our money where our mouth is, and so congratulations Carter on your win. N50 million for you,” E-Money said.
Portable, however, was far from gracious in defeat. Speaking during a live video on his Instagram page after the bout, the singer claimed the result was unjust and accused Efe of exploiting his height and reach advantage illegally.
“I was robbed. Carter Efe was not professional enough. He was strangling with his long hands and height. I threw him many punches, why didn’t you people count them? Any blow that I threw to him ought to count even if it meets him on the shoulder or hand,” he said.
Portable also called on the organisers to pay him what he described as streaming revenue from the event.
“And to the organisers, I want my stream money amounting to about N200 million. Just give me my money before I cause trouble,” he said.
Despite the loss, the singer sought to put the defeat in perspective, saying the birth of his child on the same night outweighed any belt.
“My wife just gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. I value that more than a belt. You can buy the belt but not my child,” he said.
