By Allan Fox: Efe Ajagba will take on the tough Joe Goodall in the ten-round heavyweight clash this Saturday, November 4, live on ESPN+ in a Top Rank-promoted card at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. The event begins at 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT
The 6’6″ Ajagba is coming off a fourth round disqualification victory over Zhan Kossobutskiy last August in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Zhan looked like he didn’t want to be there, so it wasn’t a big shock when he was eventually disqualified.
It was an odd fight because Zhan was someone that the 23-year-old inexperienced heavyweight contender Jared Anderson was supposed to have fought.
It was out of place for the near-30-year-old Ajagba and didn’t help him improve from his loss to Frank Sanchez. That’s the guy Ajagba should be fighting instead of facing lower-level fighters like Zhan, who only helped him pad his record.
“We sparred each other a long time ago,” said Ajagba about the 31-year-old Australian Joe Goodall, referring to their clash in the amateurs nine years ago. “And I lost to him in the Commonwealth Games in 2014. So, that’s the guy I lost to. This fight will be a rematch for me. This fight means a lot to me because of that loss.”
It’s not surprising that Efe lost to Goodall because he’s all arms & lags, even now, and he’s still not remotely polished as a heavyweight. One can only imagine how raw Ajagab looked nine years ago when he lost to Goodall in 2014.
Efe must have been a real piece of work back then, but he hasn’t improved enough to where you can put him in with any of the top heavyweights and expect him to win. Cuban Frank Sanchez dominated Ajagba in 2021, beating him by a ten round unanimous decision in a fight that wasn’t remotely close.
Since that loss, Ajagba has beaten these three heavyweights:
– Zhan Kossobutskiy
– Stephan Shaw
– Jozsef Darmos
Joe Goodall lost to Juntis Huni by a ten round unanimous last year in June in a fight that was fairly one-sided. Huni was just busier than Goodall, and that proved to be all that was needed.
It wasn’t impressive stuff from Huni, as simply threw more punches than Goodall to get the win. In Goodall’s fights since that loss, he’s beaten Arsene Fosso and Stephan Shaw.
In the chief support about, lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla takes on Diego Torres in a ten round fight. #9 WBC, #9 WBO & #11 IBF Muratalla (18-0, 15 KOs) facing the little known second tier fighter Torres (18-0, 17 KOs), which should be an interesting fight for as long as it lasts, which probably won’t be long.
The 26-year-old Muratalla is taking a step backward from his last contest against Jeremiah Nakathalia, who stepped in the second round last May.
Saturday, November 4 – Live on ESPN+ (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT)
Efe Ajagba vs. Joe Goodall, 10 rounds, Ajagba’s WBC Silver Heavyweight Title
Raymond Muratalla vs. Diego Torres, 10 rounds, Muratalla’s NABF & WBO Global Lightweight Titles
Christian Avalos vs. Estevan Partida, 4 rounds, lightweight
Brandon Moore vs. Robert Simms, 8 rounds, heavyweight
Lindolfo Delgado vs. Luis Hernandez, 8 rounds, junior welterweight
Henry Lebron vs. William Foster III, 10 rounds, junior lightweight
Antonio Mireles vs. Skylar Lacy, 6 rounds, heavyweight
Omar Rosario vs. Angel Rebollar, 8 rounds, junior welterweight
Charlie Sheehy vs. Jesus Vasquez Jr., 6 rounds, lightweight
Gabriel Garcia vs. Joshua Montoya, 6 rounds, junior lightweight
Javier Martinez vs. Isaiah Wise, 8 rounds, middleweight
