Charles Martin Says Efe Ajagba Underestimated Him

Former IBF belt holder says inactivity fooled Ajagba

Efe Ajagba signed what looked like a safe step toward contention. Charles Martin says he signed to push him backward.

Sunday night in Las Vegas, Ajagba enters ranked and moving toward a title shot. Martin enters at 39 with one round boxed in the last two and a half years. On paper it leans one way. Martin says paper does not fight.

“I know he a big, strong dude,” Martin told Ring Magazine. “Imma work my way around him, break him down, and get him up outta there. That’s what I do. That’s what I’m coming to do.”

Martin understands how he looks to matchmakers. Former IBF belt holder. Long stretches inactive. Age creeping in. That profile gets you calls when a ranked heavyweight wants a credible name without stepping into a puncher in his prime.

He believes Ajagba saw rust.

Martin sees something else.

“That was an out-of-shape Bakole,” Martin said of Ajagba’s majority draw. “I heard [Bakole] was in the best shape when he fought Jared. So, I mean, he wasn’t in shape for [the Ajagba fight]. … It looked like if he was in shape he woulda beat him. But that’s the big thing. You gotta be in shape.”

Martin is attacking the foundation of Ajagba’s recent run. Ajagba is ranked No. 8 by The Ring and has rebuilt with activity, starting with the jab, setting the pace, keeping his feet under him. The Bakole fight kept him visible. It did not separate him.

Martin’s own reminder came against Jared Anderson in 2023. He dropped heavy leather on a younger man and had him unsteady more than once. The legs were there. The left hand was there. He lost the decision. He walked out believing he still belongs.

“I want the big fights,” Martin said. “[Ajagba is] in my way. That’s his fault, that’s his mistake. [Beating Ajagba is gonna] get me them big fights.”

He is not chasing tune-ups.

“I’m trying to make it to Saudi and all that stuff,” Martin said. “I wanna be on the bigger cards, back in the mix.”

Martin also owned his past.

“In the past, I might not have been that dedicated fighter I was when I first started,” he said. “That hurt me a lot, so being back on that right track, I’m coming to make a statement.”

At heavyweight, inactivity can dull timing. It can also harden resolve. Ajagba expects to manage range behind the jab and control the pace. Martin plans to close distance, work the body, and make it physical early.

If Ajagba keeps it long and disciplined, he boxes his way through twelve rounds. If Martin drags him into exchanges and lands that straight left clean, the rankings shift in one night.

This fight will show whether Ajagba is ready for the upper tier or whether he chose the wrong former champion to step over.