Efe Ajagba wasn’t completely sure of his next move after he walked away from a planned rematch with Frank Sanchez.
However, he knew at the time that it was a pivotal moment in his career.
It eventually led to Ajagba becoming the first heavyweight contender to sign with Zuffa Boxing, with which the 2016 Nigerian Olympian is set to make his debut. He will face former heavyweight titlist Charles Martin atop “Zuffa Boxing 03” on Sunday on Paramount+ from the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.
The fight will be the first for Ajagba since a draw with Martin Bakole last May 3 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. There was an opportunity for Ajagba, 20-1-1 (14 KOs), to fight Frank Sanchez in a title eliminator, which also would have been an opportunity to avenge his lone career defeat.
Sampson Boxing won a purse bid for the rights to promote the rematch. However, even with Ajagba landing the favorable end of a 60/40 split, he still would have been left with a paltry $181,200 payday for the occasion.
It was at that moment that Ajagba knew it was time to take his career in a new direction.
“The pay was not right,” Ajagba told BoxingScene. “That’s why I moved on from that fight.
“That moment was a big factor in my [eventually] signing with Zuffa when the opportunity was presented to us.”
A win over Sanchez would have put Ajagba on a path to one day challenge for at least the IBF heavyweight title. Whenever that opportunity would have materialized, though, was another matter. Oleksandr Usyk, 24-0 (15 KOs), is the unified Ring, WBA, WBC and IBF champ. However, the WBC is next up in the mandatory challenger rotation.
Rather than remain hostage to the industry, Ajagba put himself on a far more desirable path. Just two fights have come in the past two years, again a major factor into Ajagba aligning himself with the Dana White-led Zuffa Boxing.
With a win on Sunday, the 31-year-old Ajagba believes he can make history in a hurry.
Zuffa has confirmed its plan to roll out its own title. Jai Opetaia – the current Ring and IBF cruiserweight king – will face Brandon Glanton in Zuffa’s inaugural championship on March 8 at Meta APEX.
The same kind of watershed moment at heavyweight is precisely what Ajagba envisions for his own career, should he get past Martin, 30-4-1 (27 KOs), this weekend.
“My expectation is to be Zuffa’s first heavyweight champion,” insisted Ajagba. “I was the first heavyweight to sign with them, so it would make sense to become their first [heavyweight] champ as well.
“With this win, I expect to be on a path to become No. 1 in the heavyweight division.”
Martin is in the gatekeeper stage of his career but is still a serviceable heavyweight. The 39-year-old southpaw has been stopped only twice in 35 career fights – his April 2016 early exit versus Anthony Joshua to end his IBF title reign and a January 2022 sixth-round stoppage against the heavy-handed Luis Ortiz.
A mix of upset wins and valiant-in-defeat performances have come in recent years for Martin, who is expected to provide no worse than a similar result on Sunday.
Ajgaba is confident of surpassing expectations with his own performance.
“I’m looking forward to put him down and take him out,” vowed Ajagba. “I’m not going to look for the knockout, but it’s going to come. My game plan is to touch him up and it will lead to the knockout.”
