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| Photo credit: Fightkings.com |
Olusegun Ajose is confident he will emerge victorious when
he takes on ‘Hammerin’ Hank Lundy on Friday in an important junior welterweight
bout taking place at the Rockingham Park, in New Hampshire, USA.
The fight will be shown live on ESPN as part of the station’s
Friday Night Fights series.
It will be the first time since April 20, when he scored an
eight-round unanimous decision over Rynell Griffin that the 33-year-old Ajose will
be stepping into the ring.
But the Nigerian is aware he will be fighting for his career
when he takes on the unpredictable Lundy as a loss on Friday could all but end
his quest at getting a shot at the WBC title currently held by Danny Garcia.
“This fight means a lot to me and is very important for my
career. I want my name to be amongst the elite of the 140 pound division,” said
Ajose, the number three-rated junior welterweight in the world.
“I know that Lundy is a good and skilful boxer and he is very
tough. He always comes to fight and I do not expect an easy fight.
“That being said though, I know that I will come out
victorious on Friday night. If I need to go to war to win this fight then I
will do just that. If I need to box, then I can do that too. Whatever I have to
do to win this fight I will do.
“I want to prove to everyone that I am a better fighter than
what people saw against Matthysse.”
WBC interim light
welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse handed Ajose his only defeat as a
professional via a tenth round stoppage last September in Las Vegas.
It was a fight that, despite its outcome, earned Ajose a lot
of respect from the boxing world as no fighter in the light welterweight division
had prior to that September night been able to stand toe-to-toe with the
hard-punching Argentine.
But, while Ajose dreams of bigger and better things after his
upcoming fight, he is not making the mistake of looking past his foe.
“I have my eyes set on Lundy right now and no one else. If I
want to move forward in my career, I must win on Friday night. After Friday, I
will talk about what is next for me, but without a win, there is no next and
that is why I am taking this fight so seriously,” he concluded.
Ajose isn’t the only one talking tough though as Lundy is equally
confident of emerging victorious on Friday.
“He’s a straight come forward guy,” Lundy said. “He throws
looping punches, but that shouldn’t be a problem for me. He’s there to be hit,
and I’m ready to do what I gotta do. So what I’m going to keep on doing is go
in there, fight my heart out, and keep on putting on a show.”
And he doesn’t just want to win on Friday; he wants to do it
in style.
“First and foremost,
a big win, not just a knockout,” Lundy said. “If you think about it, this guy
is number two in the WBC. Once I beat him, that brings up a fight with me and
Matthysse. Everybody runs from that guy. Not me.”
Lundy briefly had a date to fight the respected Argentine
early this year, but a managerial dispute derailed the fight.
“I was actually looking forward to fighting him on
Showtime,” Lundy said of Matthysse and the ill-fated bout.
“After this (Ajose),
I’m looking forward to fighting Matthysse. Everybody’s running from him. I’m
not running. I want Matthysse.”
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