By Craig Page: 2016 Olympian Efe Ajagba will battle Oscar ‘Kaboom’ Rivas in a heavyweight bout in the 10-round main event on January 14th on ESPN at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.

The action on the card kicks off at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT on ESPN, ESPN+, and ESPN Deportes.

It’s unclear why Top Rank is using bridgerweight contender Rivas (28-1, 19 KOs) as the opponent for the huge 6’6,” 240-lb Ajagba (16-1, 13 KOs) to fight because the size difference between the two is huge.

The 28-year-old Ajagba was already exposed by the smaller, slick heavyweight Frank Sanchez last year in October 2021, losing a wide 10-round unanimous decision.

Putting the powerful Nigerian Ajagba in with the talented Rivas is a bad idea, and it could result in him suffering his second career defeat.

In some ways, it’s good that Top Rank is having the 28-year-old Ajagba fight the Colombian Rivas next because if he loses this fight, they can trim their roster. It doesn’t look like Ajagba, a project, will pan out at this point.

Ajagba bounced back from his loss to Sanchez, defeating Jozsef Darmos by a second knockout loss last August.

If Ajagba loses to Rivas, it’s difficult to picture him being able to turn his career around. Even with the best trainer, Ajagba will continue to be vulnerable because of his robotic fighting style and lack of fluidity.

The 2008 Olympian Rivas arguably should still be undefeated because, in his only career defeat against Dillian Whyte in 2019 in London, England.

Rivas dropped Whyte with an uppercut in the ninth round and had him badly hurt from a body shot in the twelfth.

The referee mistakenly thought Rivas’ punch had strayed low and let Whyte have a breather, which might have saved him from being stopped by the Colombian.

In the undercard, the entertaining heavyweight Guido ‘The Gladiator’ Vianello (10-0-1, 9 KOs) will face Stephan Shaw (18-0, 13 KOs) in a 10-round fight.

The 2016 Olympian Vianello has the size to be a good heavyweight at 6’6″, 240 lbs, but his defense is too poor at this stage of his career for him to be matched against any of the top 10 or even in the top 15 without him suffering a loss.

In 2020, Vianello fought Kingsley Ibeh to a six-round draw. That fight was a red flag that Vianello lacks the technical ability to be matched against any of the upper-tier heavyweights.