Nigerian heavyweight contender Efe Ajagba is still smarting from his controversial draw in his last fight. Now he’s ready to step through the ropes and make a statement at Zuffa Boxing 03. Ajagba is in Las Vegas for his Zuffa Boxing debut where he’ll take on Charles Martin in the main event of Zuffa Boxing 03 at the Meta Apex on February 15th. It’s a chance for Ajagba to put things right after he battled to a majority draw with Martin Bakole last May in a fight many believed Ajagba had done enough to win. Prior to that fight in Riyadh, Ajagba had won five straight to take his career record to 20-1. And while he has a loss on his record from earlier in his career, the draw with Bakole still sticks in his craw, and he’s determined to put it firmly in the rearview mirror with a big performance against Martin on Sunday night.  

 

 

'Everybody knows that I won my last fight,” he stated. “But we move forward to this fight, and I all can think of is sticking to my gameplan and stuff like that. I’ve been working hard in training camp, in sparring, all that stuff. So my main focus is to just go to the ring and do what I’ve got to do.”

 

Ajagba thought his plan had worked out well against Bakole, as he used his movement to keep his heavier, less mobile opponent guessing as he made a great start to the matchup. But, as the rounds started to mount up, Ajagba started to slow in the closing rounds, which allowed Bakole enough of an opening to claim enough rounds in the judges’ eyes to earn a draw.

 

As far as Ajagba saw it, it was a solid execution of his pre-fight plan, and was only let down by the scoring. “My gameplan was perfect,” he said. “Everything we did in that fight was moving around, because the guy loves to fight, he loves to punch. He’s a big guy, so of course, he doesn’t want to move. He wanted me to stand in front of him to fight.  My game plan was just to move, move, move; punch, punch, punch. But, at the end of the day, they made the fight a draw. It’s a disappointing result (but) I have to take it. It is what it is.”

 

Now with his record reading 20-1-1, with 14 knockouts, Ajagba is set to showcase his skills against 35-fight veteran Martin, who hasn’t fought since 2024. As a former IBF champion, Martin has plenty of pedigree, but Ajagba said he’ll just have too much for the American on fight night. “He’s not a tough opponent, but he’s a former champion. So, he’s fought a lot of great fighters, but at the same time, he lost… When he steps into the ring with me, it’s gonna be another defeat for him. That’s it.”

 

Ajagba knows he has the power to give Martin problems, but he said he wouldn’t go chasing the knockout. Instead, he said he’ll stick to his plan, and the knockout will eventually come. “Sometimes you don’t think about the knockout. I just go in there (and) do my thing,” he said. “Start with the jab to see his reaction, to see his weakness, and then just find his weakness – that’s what a boxer is looking for. When you see the weakness, that’s when you’re going to finish them off. So, my gameplan is just touch him, touch him, touch him. Whatever is hurting him, I can finish him off from there. That’s how the knockout comes.”

 

With Ajagba determined to rebound from his scorecard woe last time out, and with a former world champion standing across the ring from him, all the ingredients are in place for an exciting fight as “The Silent Roller” looks to let his fists do the talking.

 

 

 

But he did leave us with a quick rallying call to boxing fans to make sure they’re in front of a screen when he steps through the ropes on Sunday night. “You don’t want to miss this fight,” he said. “Buy your ticket, sit on your chair and you’ll be entertained – trust me. This is gonna be a great fight.”