Boxing Preview: Ajose Olusegun vs. Nigel Wright

Finchley’s unbeaten “Nigerian Nightmare” Ajose Olusegun is sick of being boxing’s most overlooked fighter. He has run up a record of 21 consecutive victories with eleven knockouts and climbed to number eight in the WBC’s light-welterweight rankings but he’s still a man who could walk into pretty much any shop in the country and not be recognised.

This Friday evening, the hard hitting southpaw intends to raise his profile that bit further when he makes the first defence of his Commonwealth strap against Hartlepool’s Nigel Wright at the Leisure Centre in Peterlee, England, on a show that Sky Sports will televise.

Despite a the lack of notoriety, Olusegun, who represented Nigeria at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, could never be described as lacking in confidence. He feels he can hold his own with the division’s high rollers and is ready to step up to the plate, given the chance. “I am desperate to fight the best, but the best don’t want to fight me.” He said, after outclassing Gary Reid to take the title he now defends, “I need big fights to satisfy my hunger and I would love to fight Junior Witter.”

Olusegun’s best career win came in Newport, South Wales, back in September 2004 when he finished Bradley Pryce with a blistering combination in the fourth round. Pryce is, of course, now the Commonwealth Champion up at light-middleweight and is being talked about as a man who may challenge for world honours in the near future.

Ajose added another notable name to his résumé in the summer of 2006 when he outgunned tough Glossop based Namibian Ali Nuumbembe in six one sided rounds. That night, at Bethnal Green’s historic York Hall, Nuumbemebe came into the ring with a five pound weight advantage but Ajose was too accurate and fast for him and, after unhinging his fellow African with a pulverising right hook, Olusegun sealed proceedings with another right hook that left dropped the Namibian heavily in the centre of the ring.

While holding aspirations to reach boxing’s pinnacle, Olusegun would be foolish to overlook fellow southpaw Nigel Wright.

Wright, a Leisure Centre lifeguard by day, is a two time ABA Champion and has mixed it at the top level domestically as a professional. He is the reigning English Champion and has contested the British crown, dropping a twelve round decision to the then unbeaten Lenny Daws.

On the undercard of Scott Harrison’s last outing in November, 2005 Wright avenged an earlier career loss when he wiped out Paisley’s Kevin McIntyre in one round. The fact that McIntyre has gone on to claim the Lonsdale belt at welterweight is further testament to the Hartlepool man’s ability.

Last time out Wright, 18-2-1 (9), looked to set the record straight in a rematch with Daws. Cut above his left eye early in the fight, Wright used the ring well and dominated the early sessions with his jab but allowed his old adversary (they’d fought each other in the amateurs as well) to come back into to the fight. Most observers, myself included, still felt he’d done enough to get the nod but referee Phil Edwards saw it even and scored the bout 95 -95.

Wright knows he’s in for another tough night on Friday. “You look at Olusegun’s pedigree and record and you can see how good he is,” he told local press last week, “He’s boxed for his country at the Olympics. But he’s only boxed two of what I would describe as top fighters, Pryce and Nuumbembe. He’s not unbeatable and I believe I’m good enough.”

Verdict: I certainly feel that Wright, who is an excellent body puncher, will be good enough for the first half-dozen rounds and expect to see him work well behind his jab, looking for chances to land to the torso, but I believe that Olusegun will win the battle of southpaws with his flashy flurries and envisage him becoming the first man to stop the lifeguard somewhere in the championship rounds.

An interesting clash takes place on the undercard as local favourite Michael Hunter returns to the ring after eleven months out. He faces Dewsbury’s Youssef Al Hamidi over eight threes.

The contest appears a “Gimme” for a man who is a former undefeated British, European and Commonwealth super-bantam kingpin.

Hunter, 27-1-1 (12), picked up the vacant Lonsdale belt by beating Mark Payne after Newark’s stylish Esham “The King of Sting” Pickering gave it up. However, collecting the accolade in this manner wasn’t good enough for the army fatigued Hartlepool attacker.

Hunter challenged Pickering and despite suffering two trips to the canvas, he battled his way to a majority decision victory in a 2005 fight of the year contender – taking Pickering’s European and Commonwealth titles to boot.

After making three successful defences of his European championship, a shot at world honours beckoned. In front of a lively home crowd at Hartlepool’s Borough Hall, Hunter took on unbeaten Canadian Steve Molitor for the IBF’s vacant 122 pound strap but was outclassed and stopped in five rounds.

El Hamidi doesn’t possess the skill needed to hand Hunter his second career loss but that does not mean that the former world title challenger will have it all his own way. El Hamidi is a durable operator and many readers will remember him as the man who took Ricky Burns to a six round decision on Calzaghe – Kessler undercard. He has been stopped once but that was by Michael Gomez, a naturally bigger man than Hunter.

Verdict: Hunter loves a tear up and will put pressure the Dewsbury based Syrian but it will take him a few rounds to shake off the ring rust. He should win by either a late stoppage or a comfortable points margin.