Efe Ajagba battles Guido Vianello while awaiting heavier stakes

Efe Ajagba

Rio 2016 Olympics quarterfinalist, Efe Ajagba, at last, has a chance to remind the world of his potential when he meets Guido Vianello in a heavyweight challenge bout this weekend.

Heavyweight boxing has reached a point of attraction at which the stakes have rarely been higher, as Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk near their May 18 undisputed title fight and former champion Anthony Joshua hovers impressively, writes boxingscene.com.

“Heavyweights not named Fury, Usyk or Joshua are all marking time now,” Hall of Fame matchmaker, Bruce Trampler of Top Rank, said. “They need to be fighting and staying active for when the time comes.”

That’s how we’ll find Top Rank heavyweights Ajagba (19-1, 14 KOs) and Vianello (12-1-1, 10 KOs) on Saturday night – in the ESPN-televised co-main event to the Jared Anderson-Ryad Merhy heavyweight main event at American Bank Arena in Corpus Christi, Texas.

At age 29, Vianello senses that the time is now to strengthen his position in the four sanctioning bodies’ rankings, as Usyk, 37, Fury, 35, and Joshua, 34, occupy themselves with their elite-level matches and move closer to retirement age.

“Guido wanted to take a shot at a name, and Efe is in that position like every other top-10 guy, saying, ‘What else do I have to do?’” Trampler said. “You’re not going to be getting a bite at the Big Apple for a while.”

In Ajagba, also 29, Vianello faces an imposing Nigerian currently ranked number four in the WBC, number nine in the IBF and number 11 by the WBO.

“Guido let it be known he wanted to step up and fight a top-10 guy,” Trampler said. “He didn’t ask for a win or a sure win. He’s got his career to worry about.
“So, we gave him a shot at someone important, and a win by Guido puts him closer to the