Heavyweight Efe Ajagba weighed in at 235 1/4 lbs for his 12 spherical fundamental occasion battle in opposition to Stephan Shaw for his or her fundamental occasion battle this Saturday night time on the Turning Stone Resort & On line casino in Verona, New York. Substitute opponent Shaw (18-0, 13 KOs) weighed in at 239.5 lbs. The occasion will likely be proven at 10:00 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+.
(Credit score: Mikey Williams/Prime Rank through Getty Pictures)
Like within the remaining press convention, the 2016 Olympian Ajagba (16-1, 13 KOs) confirmed contempt for the 30-year-old Shaw, giving him a dismissive have a look at the top of their remaining face-off. Shaw the alternative opponent for cruiserweight Oscar Rivas.
Undercard weights:
- Efe Ajagba 235 1/4 vs. Stephan Shaw 239.5
- Guido Vianello 239 lbs vs. Jonnie Rice 274 1/4 lbs
- Abraham Nova 129 lbs vs. Adam Lopez 129 lbs
- Haven Brady Jr. 132 3/4 lbs vs. Ruben Cervera 130 1/4 lbs
- Bryce Mills 143 lbs vs. Margarito Hernandez 144 1/4 lbs
- Floyd Diaz 122 lbs vs. Edwin Rodriguez 121.5 lbs
- Brian Norman Jr. 149 lbs vs. Rodrigo Damian Coria 148 1/4 lbs
- Bruce Carrington 128 lbs vs. Juan Antonio Lopez 127.5 lbs
- Dante Benjamin Jr. 174 lbs vs. Emmanueal Austin 175 lbs
Sadly for Ajagba, Rivas suffered an harm in coaching and needed to be pulled from the cardboard. That was a extra winnable battle for Ajagba than Shaw, and it may need been a greater thought for Prime Rank to search out a neater opponent for the struggling Efe as a result of he’s not on the identical degree as Stephan by way of boxing expertise.
You possibly can argue that Ajagba will likely be trying to avoid wasting his profession on Saturday night time as a result of if he loses to Shaw, it’s honest to say he’ll be completed as a headliner.
If Ajagba can’t beat Shaw, that tells you he’s not reduce out for fundamental occasion standing except he’s matched in opposition to mediocre opposition as a result of if he’s put in with somebody good, he’ll absolutely lose.
Yeah, Ajagba will be helpful as an undercard fighter for leisure functions, so long as he’s matched accurately and never put in with anybody within the prime tier.
Given how dangerous the 28-year-old Ajagba regarded in his one-sided 10 spherical unanimous resolution to Frank Sanchez in October 2021, he may not get previous Shaw.
The Cuban Sanchez uncovered Ajagba as a robotic fighter no expertise, poor footwork, and nil means to adapt. Since that battle, Ajagba has fought simply as soon as, beating a Hungarian journeyman Jozsef Darmos by a second spherical knockout final August.
For Prime Rank to have chosen match Ajagba in opposition to Darmos, it’s a pink flag that there could possibly be issues on their half about whether or not he’ll pan out within the professional ranks.