Via Craig Page: 2016 Olympic athletes Efe Ajagba will fight Oscar ‘Kaboom’ Rivas during a 10-round main event heavyweight bout on January 14 on ESPN at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.
The action on the card begins at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT on ESPN, ESPN+, and ESPN Deportes.
It’s not clear why Top Rank is using weight class rival Rivas (28-1, 19 KOs) as an opponent for giant 6’6, 240-lb Ajagba (16-1, 13 KOs) to fight for The size difference between the two is huge.
The 28-year-old Ajagba was lost in 10 decisive rounds by his smaller, sleeker Frank Sanchez last year in October 2021.
It’s a bad idea to have Nigeria’s strong Ajagba team up with talented Rivas, and it could cost him his second defeat of his career.
In some ways, it’s good for Top Rank for 28-year-old Ajagba to face Colombian Rivas next because if he loses this, they could cut their roster. It looks like Ajagba, a project, will fail at this point.
Ajagba recovered from the defeat to Sanchez, beating Jozsef Darmos with a second knockout loss last August.
If Ajagba loses to Rivas, it’s hard to imagine him turning his career around. Even with the best trainer, Ajagba will continue to be vulnerable because of his robotic fighting style and lack of flexibility.
2008 Olympic athlete Rivas is said to remain undefeated because, in the only loss of his career, to Dillian Whyte in 2019 in London, England.
Rivas knocked Whyte down with a headbutt in the ninth round and severely injured him with a blow to the body in the twelfth round.
The referee mistakenly thought Rivas’ punch had gone too low and let Whyte let off steam, which could have saved him from being blocked by the Colombian.
In the lower card, entertainment heavyweight Guido ‘Gladiator’ Vianello (10-0-1, 9 KO) will face Stephen Shaw (18-0, 13 KOs) in a 10-round match.
2016 Olympic athlete Vianello has the size to be a good heavyweight at 6’6″, 240 lbs, but his defense is too poor at this stage of his career for him to compete. head against any opponent in the top 10 or even in the top 15 without him losing.
In 2020, Vianello played Kingsley Ibeh to draw six innings. That match was a red flag that Vianello lacked the technical ability to take on any of the top heavyweights.
