Heavyweight prospect Efe Ajagba (6-0, 5 KOs) noticed something was strange when he came face to face with opponent Curtis Harper last Thursday.

“At the weigh-in was when I figured he was scared. He walked toward me and said he had watched all of my fights and that he needed me to take it easy on him. But why would I take it easy? This is my life,” said Ajagba to Premier Boxing Champions.

But when they came to face each other on Friday night at the Armory in Minneapolis - the fight never happened.

Harper, reportedly unhappy over his purse, walked out of the ring when the first bell sounded.

He was disqualified, the purse was withheld, and he could be suspended by the local commission.

When Harper walked out of the ring and began walking to the back, Ajagba thought it was a joke.

“I started walking toward him and saw him stepping through the ropes. I was shocked and surprised at first, thinking maybe it was a joke,” Ajagba said.

“(Seeing Harper) walk out of the (arena) and (down the runway), I asked Ronnie Shields, ‘What happened? Where is he going?’ I heard somebody say, ‘He ain’t coming back,’ and, ‘He’s not fighting.’”

According to Ajagba, four other opponents had withdrawn from the contest after Harper finally accepted.

“Four other opponents had pulled out because they didn’t want to fight me, so Harper was the [fifth.] But he signed the contract, and when you sign the contract, you’re getting paid a certain amount to fight, so you’re supposed to fight. Instead, he gets into the ring and then he walks out of the ring?," Ajagba said.

Ajagba is managed by Shelly Finkel, who is also one of the managers for WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. He is also trained by veteran coach Ronnie Shields and promoted by Richard Schaefer of Ringstar Sports.