Anthony Joshua’s 6ft 8in heavyweight prospect Emanuel Odiase remains undefeated.
The former German amateur standout, who is represented by AJ’s 258 Management, moved to 4-0 on Saturday night with a fourth-round knockout win over Kevin Masirika on the Felix Cash vs Tyler Denny undercard.
Emanuel Odiase is one to watch in the heavyweight divisionCredit: DAZN
Masirika (2-2) was an English bare-knuckle boxing champion with the now-defunct Bare-Fist Boxing Association (BFBA) before transitioning to professional boxing in 2023.
Big Kev dislocated his shoulder in his last outing against Blackpool’s Luis Wright in March and gamely took the Odiase fight on short notice.
His bravery was on full display from the off as he came flying out of the gate looking to land his looping left hand from the southpaw stance before settling on the backfoot.
The towering Odiase began to establish his jab in the opening stanza but wasn’t able to land much of note with his backhand.
That would all change in the second frame when a clubbing right buckled Masirka’s knees early in the round.
Odiase followed up with a spiteful left hook moments later that appeared to momentarily stun his Mancunian foe.
Sensing the fight was slipping away from him, Masirika came out looking to impose himself in the third.
The former bare-knuckle boxer did an excellent job of smothering Odiase’s work but wasn’t able to string together the shots needed to win the round.
Odiase is signed to Anthony Joshua’s 258 ManagementCredit: Instagram – @emaodiase
Heading into the fourth and final stanza, there was a spring in Odiase’s step as he effortlessly evaded Masirika’s shots and landed a huge left hook that sent his adversary tumbling to the canvas, where he was counted out.
Speaking in the immediate aftermath of his victory, Odiase said: “I’m happy with the performance because you hear all these people say ‘Has he got enough power for a heavyweight blah blah blah’.
“Well, I showed you tonight that I’ve got the power…
“A great way to win it. Health comes first so I pray he comes out healthy. But yeah I was hitting him with some good shots and one round before he was shaking his head like ‘That’s nothing’.
“So I was thinking to myself ‘I’m going to show you son’ and that’s what I did, it’s a great knockout.
“But obviously, like I said, I pray that he comes out well.”
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn then timed in: “He’s a talented fighter, he’s come in a bit on the blindside without the amateur pedigree in the UK and the profile in the UK.
“But AJ and the team saw the quality in him through the sparring and they know how good he is.
“And we are seeing how good he is, punch selection very good and that was a brutal knockout.
“The opponent was game, he didn’t stop coming, he was out as soon as the shot landed.”