ESPN will have an interesting co-feature between two heavyweight hopefuls on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023 when Top Rank promotes a show at theTurning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. The ten-round co-feature will see 2016 Italian Olympian Guido “The Gladiator” Vianello take a step up in class against unbeaten American Stephan “Big Shot” Shaw. The main event that night will also feature heavyweights as big-punching Olympians Efe “The Silent Roller” Ajagba and Oscar “Kaboom” Rivas collide. Ajagba-Rivas and Vianello-Shaw will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
Vianello, the fighting pride of Rome, went 6-5 in AIBA's professional World Series of Boxing competition. He began his current pro campaign in December 2018 and has gone 10-0-1 since then, including winning the first seven by stoppage in three rounds or less. His momentum stalled following a 2020 draw against Kingsley Ibeh and an injury-plagued 2021 that saw him fight once. Vianello came back in July and knocked out Rafael Rios in four rounds. Three months later, he returned home to Rome and pleased the local fans with a dominating eight-round decision over Jay McFarlane.
Vianello said, “Stephan Shaw is a good, undefeated fighter, but I fight better when presented with top opposition. I look forward to fighting on ESPN as part of a great heavyweight doubleheader.”
Shaw (18-0, 13 KOs), from St. Louis, is a 6’4, 235-pound boxer-puncher who has knocked out three of his last four foes. He made his Top Rank debut in January, becoming only the third man to knock out Philadelphia’s iron-chinned Joey Dawejko. Shaw tallied three knockdowns in just 2:35 to wipe out Bernardo Marquez in July and then preserved his date against Vianello with an eight-round shutout over Rydell Booker on Nov. 22nd in New York City. Shaw will receive his nationally televised opportunity a decade removed from winning U.S. National and National PAL gold medals as an amateur. “I’m excited. This is my time to shine. This is my moment,” Shaw said. “I’m ready to go out and there and have some fun. I won’t be under the radar after beating Guido. He’s a good boxer, but I am superior. I will prove that on January 14th.”
The undercard also includes a ten-round junior lightweight tilt between Adam “BluNose” Lopez and Abraham “El Super” Nova (21-1, 15 KOs). Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Albany, New York, Nova is returning to the junior lightweight ranks after briefly testing the featherweight waters. Last January at Turning Stone, Nova knocked out late replacement William Encarnacion in the eighth round. That knockout led to an ESPN-televised co-feature in June against southpaw Cuban dynamo Robeisy Ramirez at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. After four competitive rounds, Ramirez knocked Nova out with a left hand in the fifth. Nova returns to the friendly Turning Stone confines against Lopez (16-3, 6 KOs), a native of Glendale, California, who is making his junior lightweight debut. Lopez last fought in May against Encarnacion, surviving knockdowns in the first and third rounds to eke out an eight-round unanimous decision.
In other undercard action, junior featherweight Floyd “Cashflow” Diaz (8-0, 3 KOs), the 19 year-old who went 5-0 with three stoppages in 2022, will fight in his first scheduled eight-rounder...
Junior welterweight prospect Bryce Mills (10-1, 4 KOs), the local favorite from Liverpool, New York, aims to increase his winning streak to five against Margarito Hernandez (3-3-1) in a six-rounder...
Cleveland-born light heavyweight Dante Benjamin Jr. (4-0, 2 KOs) fights in his first scheduled six-rounder against fellow unbeaten Emmanueal Austin (6-0, 6 KOs) and...
Junior lightweight Haven Brady Jr. (8-0, 4 KOs), who won four fights in 2022, makes his 2023 debut in an eight-rounder against an opponent to be named.
