Amateur rivals Efe ‘The Silent Roller’ Ajagba 18-1 (13) and Joe Goodall 10-1-1 (9) will look to settle who is the better heavyweight in the pro ranks when they lock horns over 10 rounds at Tahoe Blue Event Center in Lake Tahoe, Nevada on Saturday night.
Australian Goodall, 31, eclipsed the 29-year-old Nigerian in the semifinals of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, winning the bout by decision before going on to win the silver medal in the tournament.
The pair have also worked together as sparring partners in the past.
“We sparred each other a long time ago,” Ajagba said. “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… 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. I’m going to put all of that in the fight.”
Goodall entered his last bout as an underdog when he scored a stunning sixth-round knockout victory over Stephan Shaw 18-2 (13) in the US in July and will be looking to repeat the treatment against Ajagba.
He played a straight bat when asked about the sparring sessions against Ajagba.
“I never really talk about sparring. Sparring is sparring, fighting is fighting for me,” Goodall said.
“We know each other well, we’ve been around the traps of the top level in the boxing world.
“There’s a few things that he might see that’ll work for him in this fight and there’s a few things I see working for me in this fight.
“It’s just up to me to execute.”
Ajagba last saw action in August when he bested previously undefeated Kazakh southpaw Zhan Kossobutskiy 19-1 (18) by fourth round disqualification.
It was his third win, including a 10-round victory over Shaw in January, since his 10-round loss to Cuban contender Frank Sanchez 23-0 (16) in October two years ago.
Goodall hinted that he saw flaws in Ajagba in that fight, but refused to be drawn on specifics.
“Without giving away too much, his only loss was to Frank Sanchez,” said Goodall, who has only ever lost to top prospect and fellow Aussie Justis Huni on points.
“I watched that fight. Frank’s movement was pretty good in that fight. I don’t want to say that I’ll copy him, but there are some things in that fight that I can implement.
“But once again, we’ve sparred before. We know each other well. So, it’s about executing the plan on fight night.”
Victory will stamp Goodall as a fringe contender to the heavyweight title.
“This is a big clash. Efe Ajagba’s a top fighter,” he said. “I believe I’m up there with the top fighters in the world.”
“It means everything to me.”
