Efe Ajagaba will face Martin Bakole tonight on the undercard of Canelo vs William Scull in Riyadh.
Efe Ajagba is looking to cause the upset against Martin Bakole in their heavyweight clash this evening.
Ajagba, 20-1, was written off by many, but after Bakole, who was beaten by Joseph Parker in his last outing, where he was heavily out of shape, weighed in at 299lbs, fans give him more of a chance against the so-called boogeyman of the division.
Ajagba’s one loss came at the hands of Frank Sanchez, who was beaten by Agit Kabayel last year.
The Nigerian boxer began his pro career in 2017 with a first-round knockout over an opponent with a lottery ticket opportunity.
Efe Ajagba blitzed Deontay Wilder’s opponent in one round in his pro debut
Efe Ajagba fought 6-1 Tyrrell Herndon in his first pro fight. The fight was short and sweet for Ajagba, though not-so-sweet for Herndon, who was dropped twice in the opening round before being stopped by the Nigerian fighter.
This win began a string of first-round victories, with Ajagba winning seven of his first eight fights by KO in the opening round.
Ajagba has most recently defeated Guido Vianello by split decision, though this fight was over a year ago now, and Ajagba’s inactivity could factor into the biggest fight of his career tonight.
Herndon is now 24-5, and is set to face Deontay Wilder in June for his comeback fight after losses to Zhilei Zhang and Parker.
Efe Ajagba’s opponents have been disqualified twice, one in the shortest boxing match in history
In 2018, Ajagba scored a one-second stoppage as his opponent, Curtis Harper, exited the ring as soon as the opening bell sounded.
Harper was booed as he left the venue, and Ajagba was awarded the win by DQ. Harper later revealed he threw the fight as a result of a financial dispute with his promoter.
Five years later, Ajagba won once more by disqualification, when undefeated Zhan Kossobutskiy landed repeated low blows on Ajagba despite being warned against it.
Kossobutskiy has not fought since. Ajagba is now hours away from the biggest fight of his career against Bakole, who ruined Olympian Tony Yoka’s pro career years ago.