Preview: 2016 Olympian Guido Vianello (10-0-1, 9 KOs) will be fighting Jonnie Rice (15-6-1, 10 KOs) in a 10 round chief support bout. Vianello, but he’s a work in progress despite his amateur pedigree.
Interestingly, the Ajagba-Shaw main event fight will be ten rounds instead of 12, which has to be viewed as a move to keep Ajagba (16-1, 13 KOs) from struggling due to his poor stamina. If it were 12 rounds, Ajagba would be in danger of gassing out.
As it is, Ajagba faded badly in his 10-round unanimous decision defeat against Frank Sanchez in October 2021, which resulted in Top Rank putting the brakes on the 2016 Olympian’s progression. Since that loss, the 6’6″ Ajagba has fought just once, beating journeyman Jozsef Darmos by a second round knockout last August.
At some point, Ajagba will need to move to 12-rounders, and if his stamina hasn’t improved, he’s going to lose repeatedly.
Had Ajagba not lost to Sanchez, Top Rank would have matched him against a top-tier contender instead little-known Darmos. Ajagba was supposed to fight 35-year-old Oscar Rivas (28-1, 19 KOs).
That would have been a big step up for Ajagba, but given Rivas’ lack of size and his advancing age, Top Rank likely felt confident that he could still win. Ajagba is one of those fighters that needs his opponents to stand directly in front of him for him to succeed. He’s a poor boxer, and he’s slow on his feet, incapable of cutting off the ring against faster guys.
In other fights on tonight’s card, super featherweight Abraham “El Super” Nova (21-1, 15 KOs) will be taking on Adam “BluNose” Lopez (16-3, 6 KOs) in a 10 round bout.
Featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (5-0, 3 KOs) battles Juan Antonio Lopez (17-12-1, 7 KOs) in a bout scheduled for six rounds.
Efe Ajagba faces Stephan Shaw in a 10 round headliner tonight on ESPN at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. The card begins at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN & ESPN+.
Shaw (18-0, 13 KOs) could be the worst nightmare for Ajagba (16-1, 13 KOs) because he’s got the boxing skills to neutralize his right hand, which is his bread & butter punch. Ajagba has similar power as Deontay Wilder with his right hand, but he’s slower, less athletic, and very stiff & robotic.
If Ajagba can’t land his atomic-powered right hand tonight, he’s in serious trouble against the highly skilled Shaw.