Efe Ajagba vs. Stephan Shaw Prediction: Nigerian to upset the odds

A juicy heavyweight encounter gets underway this weekend in New York when Nigerian former Commonwealth bronze medalist Efe Ajagba faces undefeated American Stephan “Big Shot” Shaw in a heavyweight fight under Bob Arum’s Top Rank Boxing promotion. Both fighters who were active in 2022 come into this matchup on the back of wins in their last fight. A potential slugfest from the two competent heavyweights, Bob Arum has described the bout as a tough one for Stephan Shaw against one of the biggest punchers in the division. The fight will happen on Saturday at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. It will be available on ESPN+.

Ajagba enjoyed a very good amateur career picking up a Bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and a Gold Medal at the 2015 All African Games, both in the Super-Heavyweight class. Turning pro in 2015, Ajagba was undefeated in fifteen fights before losing to Frank Sánchez via a unanimous decision in 2021. That fight for the WBC Continental Americas and WBO-NABO heavyweight title was noted for being boring and uneventful all of its ten rounds. Ajagba rebounded in 2022 with a TKO over Jozsef Darmos in August. Efe Ajagba is one of the biggest punchers in the heavyweight division with thirteen of his sixteen wins coming by way of knockouts.

Undefeated as a professional, Stephan Shaw had a stellar career in the amateur ranks winning the national championships four times. Nineteen fights into his professional career has yielded eighteen wins and one no contest against Joel Caudle in 2018. Currently riding a nine-fight winning streak, the American is poised to make a statement in the world. He will be making a quick turnaround as his last fight was a unanimous decision win over Rydell Booker in November.

A tough match on paper, the lines opened with both fighters on par but have since moved to see Shaw as the favorite now. Stephan is undefeated, yes, but he has mostly fought eight round bouts. His only 10 round fight was three years ago. Last year he fought three times and is making another quick turnaround from last November. Ajagba was scheduled to face Oscar Rivas in the headline card but when Rivas dropped out, Shaw was upgraded from the undercard. Fighting mostly in ten round bouts, Ajagba’s only loss to Sánchez was for continental titles. Also, Ajagba has engaged with more notable opponents. Although, Shaw will hope to burst the hype around his more famous opponent, Efe Ajagba is a formidable puncher, knockout specialist and experienced pugilist. We go with Ajagba for the win.

• W1 (Efe Ajagba) at 2.405 odds on 1xbet
• W1 (Efe Ajagba) at 2.20 odds on Betking
• Efe Ajagaba by KO/TKO/DQ at 4.00 odds on Bet365