Heavyweight prospect Efe Ajagba recently signed a deal with Top Rank, and the 26-year-old Nigerian power puncher, now based in Texas, is looking to move into the world title scene soon enough.
The obvious target, having moved to Top Rank, would be an eventual fight with WBC titleholder Tyson Fury. But Ajagba (13-0, 11 KO) spoke with Sky Sports about an eventual possible clash with Anthony Joshua, saying he has the ability to beat the WBA/IBF/WBO titlist:
“I have more skills. … The best weapon of Joshua’s is the left hook and right uppercut. He doesn’t have a good jab. I respect him. He is the heavyweight champion. I respect everything about him — his talent and his potential. He is a humble guy. People are saying that I talk Joshua down. But I don’t want to do that.”
Ajagba is a good prospect, and Joshua (23-1, 21 KO) certainly isn’t a perfect fighter, but the young fighter is still something of a work in progress, and matching him with Joshua now would be a pretty foolish or bold idea, depending on how you want to look at it. And while maybe it’s good, on some level, that he’s already got this kind of confidence and ambition, it’s a long way from Iago Kiladze and Razvan Cojanu to Anthony Joshua.
Of course, Ajagba won’t be in with AJ any time soon, either. Joshua has a mandatory due against Kubrat Pulev, potentially another one with Oleksandr Usyk after that, and then his target could be an undisputed fight with Fury. More likely Top Rank will look to continue the baby steps with Ajagba — he’s young and has time to develop a good deal further, if he has it in him to do so.