Hard-punching heavyweight Efe Ajagba wants revenge on Joe Goodall for amateur loss, warning: "I'm going to put everything in the fight"; watch Ajagba vs Goodall from 1am on Sunday morning live on Sky Sports Arena
Saturday 4 November 2023 22:01, UK
Efe Ajagba wants revenge against heavyweight rival Joe Goodall when they fight in their 10-round main event in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, live on Sky Sports in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Nigeria's Ajagba is a hard-punching heavyweight contender but Goodall beat him when they met in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Both have recovered from their first professional defeats, rebuilt with wins and are looking to advance up the heavyweight rankings.
"This fight means a lot to me. For me, this fight is going to get me closer to a world title fight. So, after this fight, I'm going to see where we go," Ajagba said.
"We sparred each other a long time ago. I lost to him in the Commonwealth Games in 2014. So, that's the guy I lost to. This fight is going to be a rematch for me.
"This fight means a lot to me because I lost to him."
Australia's Goodall knows the victor of this contest may eventually get themselves in the frame for a shot at one of the heavyweight world titles.
"This is a big clash. Efe Ajagba is a top fighter. I believe I'm up there with the top fighters in the world," Goodall said.
"The winner may get a world title."
Excellent Cuban Frank Sanchez outpointed Ajagba in 2021. Goodall believes he has seen a blueprint there for how to beat Ajagba once again.
"Without giving away too much, his only loss was to Frank Sanchez. I watched that fight," the Australian said.
"Frank's movement was pretty good in that fight. Not to say I'll copy him, but there are some things I've seen in that fight which I can implement. But once again, we've sparred before. We know each other well. So, it's just up to executing on the night."
The Nigerian cautioned against reading too much into that defeat. "I'm not here to make excuses, in that fight I had an elbow injury. So after that fight I went for surgery," he said. "This Saturday night you're going to see the difference in me."
Ajagba is a dangerous puncher who is capable of scoring spectacular knockouts.
"The 'Silent Roller' is my nickname, so I'm going to come out as a beast in the fight. I'm silent outside, but in the ring, I'm a different guy," he warned. "I'm going to come explosive. I'm going to come as a beast in the ring.
"I'm going to come with everything, the training, the sparring, everything I did. I've been knocking people out in sparring. So I'm going to put everything in the fight.
"I will do my best, my best to beat him up."
Watch Efe Ajagba vs Joe Goodall on Sky Sports Arena from 1am on Sunday morning.
