Chaos in the Ring: Carter Efe, Phyna seal fourth-round victories

Popular streamer and skit maker, Oderhohwo Joseph Efe, known as Carter Efe, defeated rapper Darlington Okoye, known as Speed Darlington, in the men’s celebrity bout, while reality TV star Josephina ...

Phyna after knocking Nkechi Blessing (on the canvas) out in the fourth round at “Chaos in the Ring” in Lagos. Photo by Oluwabukunmi Fakanbi

Popular streamer and skit maker, Oderhohwo Joseph Efe, known as Carter Efe, defeated rapper Darlington Okoye, known as Speed Darlington, in the men’s celebrity bout, while reality TV star Josephina Otabor, known as Phyna, knocked out actress Nkechi Blessing Sunday in the women’s contest at “Chaos in the Ring” in Lagos.

The bouts took place at the Balmoral Hall, Federal Palace Resort, as part of Nigeria’s Independence Day celebrations on Thursday, October 1, with the card continuing into the early hours of Friday.

Carter Efe retained his celebrity boxing title after the four-round contest against Speed Darlington ended late on Thursday.

After being declared the winner, he called for an international opponent, naming American rapper DDG and former world boxing champion Floyd Mayweather.

“I want an international opponent. I want to fight DDG, Mayweather,” he said.

The Twitch streamer also credited Jasmine with motivating him to win, saying he had not trained for the encounter.

“My babe Jasmine gave me the motivation to win this fight cos I didn’t even train, all I was looking at was Jasmine’s face, and I won,” he said.

In the women’s celebrity contest that followed, Phyna knocked Nkechi Blessing to the canvas in the fourth round to secure a knockout victory in the early hours of Friday, October 2.

After being declared the winner, Phyna said she had planned to play with her opponent during the first three rounds before fighting more seriously in the fourth.

She received a car and a ceremonial cheque for ₦50 million following her victory.

Phyna then challenged actress Etinosa Idemudia to a fight, saying Etinosa had been in her direct messages and that she wanted to beat her in the ring.

Etinosa later came on stage and accepted the challenge.

The results followed heated confrontations at Tuesday’s pre-event press conference, where the celebrities exchanged threats and insults.

Carter Efe had questioned Speed Darlington’s decision to face him after the rapper’s previous defeat to Habeeb Badmus, known as Portable.

“Speed Darlington, are you insane? You want to fight me when you could not beat Portable. You should not be in the ring with me at all, and that is why I will beat you,” he said.

Efe also defended his comments about musician Wizkid, insisting that his call-outs were part of the entertainment surrounding celebrity boxing.

“Some people think me calling out Wizkid is disrespectful too, but it is not. It is entertainment. It is not disrespectful. I do not know why people think that. It is a sport, and we will entertain fans and make money,” he said.

Speed Darlington responded by laying claim to the belt Efe had won against Portable.

“Be careful with that belt. Your belt is mine. Do not scratch it now,” he said.

Their confrontation escalated when Speed Darlington kicked a birthday cake presented to Carter Efe to the ground. Bouncers separated the pair as they almost came to blows.

Phyna and Nkechi Blessing also exchanged words during the press conference. Firecrackers set off by Efe’s entourage sparked a brief fire, which was put out with extinguishers.

Speaking ahead of the event, Chief Executive Officer of Balmoral Promotions, Dr Ezekiel Adamu, said the organisers were ready for the Independence Day card.

“All the fighters are around, the sanctioning bodies are around, the zone is around, and we’re ready to rumble,” he said.

Adamu described the women’s contest as the event’s first female celebrity bout.

“For the first time, we have a female celebrity bout, which I think has gone very viral. Many people are looking forward to that. There’s still Carter Efe and Speed Darlington,” he said.

He also said the rivalry between Phyna and Nkechi Blessing had become personal.

“I think it has become personal. It was personal before. I think it has become really personal now. We saw Carter and Speedy as well. It is going to be very crazy chaos. We saw Freezy and Godday as well. I mean, there is a lot of war over the night. Another edition of chaos at the press conference. Can’t wait,” Adamu said.