Efe Ajagba: Nigerian monster set for return against Zhan Kossobutskiy

On August 26, when Jared Anderson takes on Andriy Rudenko, the big guys will be out in full force. 

Nigeria's Efe Ajagba will fight Zhan Kossobutskiy in the co-feature of the three-bout ESPN telecast, according to a Top Rank announcement today.

In a disappointing 2021 loss to Frank Sanchez, Ajagba undoubtedly appeared to have reached his potential. 

He knocked out Jozsef Darmos in a get-well fight before grinding out a 50/50 match with Stephan Shaw in January.

Despite being unlikely to become a legitimate contender, he is by far Kossobutskiy's hardest opponent yet. 

Prior to encountering visa complications, Anderson and the Kazakh star were supposed to meet on January 1.

Since Kossobutskiy had never faced Anderson before, Top Rank probably should have scheduled this fight sooner.

In his promotional debut, Bakhodir Jalolov takes on Onoriode Ehwarieme of Nigeria.

Jalolov, who won a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, is Top Rank's most recent high-profile signing.

Rodney Hernandez derailed Nigeria's Ehwarieme in 2019, and Kossobutskiy stopped him two fights later, so "The Big Uzbek" shouldn't have too many problems.