Efe Ajagba will once again serve as the co-feature for a Jared Anderson main event, as Mike Coppinger reports that he’ll meet Guido Vianello ahead of Anderson’s April 13th clash with Ryad Merhy.
Ajagba’s (19-1, 14 KO) three-fight, three-win 2023 saw him grit out an ugly win over Stephen Shaw, get Golota’d by Zhan Kossobutskiy, then beat down Joe Goodall in his first main event. He’s bounced back nicely from his 2021 loss to Frank Sanchez and is probably ahead of Sanchez in the heavyweight picture at this point; not a world-beater, but a solid pro who’s continuing to improve.
Not sure the same can be said for fellow Olympian Vianello (12-1-1, 10 KO). Though he’s 2-0 since suffering a cut stoppage to Jonathan Rice in January 2023, beating designated victims Curtis Harper and Moses Johnson, he’s well behind fellow 29-year-old Ajagba in terms of development.
Whoever wins should be ready to start a serious contender run, so we’ll see who gets to capitalize in the post-Usyk-Fury world.