Efe Ajagba and Zhan Kossobutskiy battle it out at Arduous Rock Resort And On line casino Tulsa in Catoosa, OK on Saturday, August 26. The ten-round heavyweight contest pits Nigerian contender in opposition to Kazakh southpaw. The bout serves because the co-feature on the cardboard topped by Anderson vs Rudenko stay on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and stay stream ESPN+. The remainder of undercard motion has been additionally introduced right this moment.
The telecast opener options Olympic gold medalist Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan up in opposition to Onoriode Ehwarieme of Nigeria. The bout is scheduled for eight rounds at heavyweight.
In the principle occasion, Toledo, Ohio-born Jared Anderson goes up in opposition to Andriy Rudenko of Ukraine. The pair squares off within the 10-round conflict at heavyweight.
Tickets for the occasion could be bought through TicketNetwork, TicketSmarter and Vivid Seats.
Efe Ajagba vs Zhan Kossobutskiy
Efe Ajagba (17-1, 13 KOs), a 2016 Nigerian Olympian, has solidified himself as one of many division’s fiercest punchers. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound slugger debuted as a professional in July 2017 and secured six first-round knockouts in his first eight bouts. He suffered his first defeat in October 2021 in opposition to Frank Sanchez. Following the loss, Ajagba had surgical procedure on each his elbows, returning in August 2022 to cease Hungarian veteran Jozsef Darmos within the second spherical. The 29-year-old is coming off a 10-round resolution win in opposition to beforehand unbeaten contender Stephan Shaw in January.
“It is a nice check for me as I proceed my quest to develop into Nigeria’s subsequent heavyweight champion,” Ajagba stated. “I’m coming to Tulsa to attain a devastating knockout and remind everybody what I’m able to doing contained in the ring.”
Zhan Kossobutskiy (19-0, 18 KOs) is a 34-year-old southpaw from Kostanay, Kazakhstan. He has solely gone the space as soon as in his profession, a six-round resolution win over Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko in September 2018. In 2021, he went 3-0 with three knockouts. In 2022, he dispatched former world title challenger Johann Duhaupas within the fifth spherical and is coming off a third-round knockout over beforehand unbeaten contender Hussein Muhamed final November.
“I’m able to make my debut in america in opposition to a really sturdy opponent, Kossobutskiy stated. “I need to present that I can beat one of the best within the heavyweight division, and to try this, you should overcome very powerful challenges. I sit up for displaying the world my skills on August 26.”
Bakhodir Jalolov vs Onoriode Ehwarieme
Jalolov (12-0, 12 KOs) represented Uzbekistan on the 2016 Olympics earlier than turning professional in Could 2018 with a third-round TKO over Hugo Trujillo. He constructed an 8-0 document earlier than returning to the novice ranks in the summertime of 2021 to seize an Olympic gold medal. Jalolov then tallied 4 knockout wins within the paid ranks earlier than persevering with his exceptional novice run in Could with a gold medal on the 2023 World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The 29-year-old wrecking ball returns to the professional ranks following his fourth-round TKO over Curtis Harper final November.
Ehwarieme (20-2, 19 KOs) debuted as knowledgeable with a call win over Junior Maletino Iakopo in December 2010. He defeated his subsequent 16 opponents by knockout, all inside 5 rounds. He suffered his first loss in opposition to Rodney Hernandez in June 2019, however returned in December to cease Ariel Esteban Bracamonte through first-round knockout. Ehwarieme suffered a fourth-round stoppage loss in opposition to Kossobutskiy in February 2021, and he’s 2-0 with two knockouts since. The 35-year-old, who represented Nigeria on the 2008 Olympics, blasted out Jeff Holcomb in just one spherical in February 2022.
Anderson vs Rudenko undercard
The ESPN+-streamed undercard contains among the sports activities brightest up-and-coming abilities.
Rising featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (8-0, 5 KOs), the most recent fistic expertise to return from Brownsville, Brooklyn, will struggle an opponent to be named in an eight-rounder. Carrington will make his fourth 2023 look following an eighth-round TKO win over Luis Porozo in June.
Undefeated middleweight prospect Nico Ali Walsh (8-0-1, 5 KOs), grandson of Muhammad Ali, will face Sona Akale (7-1, 4 KOs) in a six-rounder. Ali Walsh will struggle in Tulsa for the third time as a professional following an eight-round draw in opposition to Danny Rosenberger on the Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko undercard.
19-year-old light-weight prodigy Abdullah Mason (9-0, 8 KOs) will make his fourth look of 2023 in a six-round duel. Mason was thought of one of many brightest U.S. novice abilities earlier than signing with High Rank in October 2021. The southpaw returns after a second-round TKO win over Alex de Oliveira on July 1.
In a 10-round junior light-weight tilt, Filipino Olympian Charly Suarez (15-0, 9 KOs) will put his unbeaten document on the road in opposition to hard-hitting Dominican Yohan Vasquez (25-3, 20 KOs). Suarez heads to Tulsa following a Twelfth-round TKO win in opposition to then-unbeaten Australian Paul Fleming on enemy turf.
Kazakh Olympian Ablaikhan Zhussupov (3-0, 2 KOs) returns in a welterweight conflict scheduled for eight rounds.
Anderson vs Rudenko struggle card
The present Anderson vs Rudenko struggle card seems to be as the next:
Fundamental card
- Jared Anderson vs. Andriy Rudenko, 10 rounds, heavyweight
- Efe Ajagba vs. Zhan Kossobutskiy, 10 rounds, heavyweight
- Bakhodir Jalolov vs. Onoriode Ehwarieme, 8 rounds, heavyweight
Undercard
- Bruce Carrington vs. TBA, 8 rounds, featherweight
- Nico Ali Walsh vs. Sona Akale, 6 rounds, middleweight
- Abdullah Mason vs. TBA, 6 rounds, light-weight
- Charly Suarez vs. Yohan Vasquez, 10 rounds, junior light-weight
- Ablaikhan Zhussupov vs. TBA, 8 rounds, welterweight
Within the UK and Australia, Jared Anderson vs Andriy Rudenko airs stay on Sunday, August 27.