Ajose Olusegun - Too Good For His Own Good

[Wake up call]

Ajose Olusegun - Too Good For His Own Good

By Andrew Wake

In most sports, a competitor’s natural born talent and will to succeed are the keys to garnering opportunity and opening doors to the top.

Boxing, however, is not like most sports. Only in the world of the fistic arts can an athlete be so good and so dangerous that the chances to shine never materialise. These fighters are too good for their own good. They are the type of pugs that promoters, managers and matchmakers dare not chance their fighters against as the risk of losing is the greater than the reward that victory would bring.

Nigerian light-welterweight Ajose Olusegun finds himself in this category. The 29-year-old southpaw, who fights out of Finchley in London, England, has an unbeaten record of 26 wins with 13 knockouts and is ranked number six in the world by the World Boxing Council but is still languishing in obscurity.

“They don’t want to fight a guy who will cause them big problems,” Ajose says of his 140 pound rivals. “I pose a big threat to any opponents so I understand why they have avoided me, but it’s just a matter of time. I will get my chance.”

Olusegun was born in Lagos in December 1979. He is the eldest of nine children. His father was a boxing trainer and encouraged him to taking up the sport when he was just six years of age.

After a few bumpy moments in the unpaid ranks, Ajose grew into a formidable amateur and won a gold medal at the African Games in 1999. A year later he fought in the Sydney Olympics but was put out of the competition by eventual silver medallist Ricardo Williams.

Then he decided to turn pro.

“My late manager James Oyebola saw me in the Olympics and was quite interested [in me]. I had a contract to go to Australia and a contract to go to the US, and I would have signed it, but he told me not to sign it and come to Britain.”

Tragically Oyebola, who reigned as British heavyweight champion in the mid-1990s, was murdered in the summer of 2007. Oyebola was known as a gentle man who worked invested a lot of time in helping youngsters off the streets and into sport, but when he politely asked a man to extinguish his cigarette in a Fulham nightclub the man pulled out a gun and shot him.

Ajose lost a manager who he looked up to like an elder brother and now says, “I was glad I came to Britain because he really looked after me and I’ve learned a lot of things that have made me a better person.”

Ajose made his professional debut at the Royal Gardens Hotel, London in May 2001 and blew away awkward Sheffield-based Yugoslav Tony Montana in the first round. Since then he has scored impressive wins over Bradley Pryce, Ali Nuumbembe and, most recently, Scott Haywood.

“The best win was against Ali Nuumbembe. He’d never been stopped before that fight.”

On several occasions there has been talk that a major fight with Junior Witter might happen for the Nigerian but frustratingly for him, nothing has come to fruition. Ajose now believes that if the Bradford man can regain the WBC crown he lost to Timothy Bradley last year, that long awaited match up might finally occur.

“The guy [Witter] is a very tough guy and he’s good fighter. I think he’ll fight Devon Alexander [for the vacant title] and he’ll win. That would make him a two-time world champion. You’ve got to respect that but I just think I’m better than this guy. Although I’ve been avoided by him in the past many times, I think at some point we might have a shot at each other.

“I’m gonna do my best to put myself in a position where I’m mandatory challenger and then he’ll have no other choice other than to fight me.”

But it’s not just Witter that he believes has shirked his challenge. He believes that several of the top 140 pound boxers are side-stepping the toughest contests out there.

“My message to every light-welterweight in the world is to just fight. I want to fight the best. We have a lot of talent in the light-welterweights and I just want everyone to fight each other. I doesn’t matter who you are, don’t avoid a challenge.

“What a boxer should do is box. I’m willing to take on anybody. I don’t care whether he’s the number one contender or the number ten contender, I don’t care I just want to fight.

“When I fought Scott Haywood, I didn’t have to fight him but he challenged me so I fought him. And Nigel Wright, I was supposed to have a voluntary defence, but he challenged me so I said ‘Ok I’ll fight him’ and I did and I won. That’s what it’s all about for me. I just want to fight and I don’t care who.”

Next up for Ajose is a chance to win the vacant British title when he takes on Motherwell’s tough Barry Morrison next month.

“Barry Morrison is no mug, he’s a good boxer, his record speaks for itself and I think he’s been British champion as well. Every title means something to me and this British title is bigger than that Commonwealth title. I’ll be very happy to win it.”

http://www.secondsout.com/columns/andre ... s-own-good

[Old bones Ian]

I can understand why he's frustrated, but his recent performances have not been dynamic enough for him to build a following, looks like he was going through the motions.

He doesn't sell enough tickets to warrent the investment by a promoter to get him a big fight.

But saying that, he has been manovered into a world ranking without facing a anything like a worldclass boxer.

[lowersmiths]

thailand's world-ranked sirimongkol was willing to fight him in london last year but ajose didn't want it......

[Lenny]

Wasn't it him that wasn't interested in the Witter fight as well after he had lost the belt?

[Bomber 1]

I wouldn't say too good BUT I would say TOO DANGEROUS for his own good!!

If you beat him what do you get??? Big Risk for small reward guys.. :(

I feel for him too cos I think he is being avoided!!

[iwz678]

Witter v Olusegun at the York Hall would be a fantastic fight in my opinion.

Didnt know about his connections with Oyebola though.

[Wake up call]

I wouldn't say too good BUT I would say TOO DANGEROUS for his own good!!

If you beat him what do you get??? Big Risk for small reward guys.. :(

I feel for him too cos I think he is being avoided!!

I get your point Tony. Too Good just made a better headline.

Got that piece about you in last week's Boxing News as well. Only four months after a spoke to you last. :)

[twenty six]

Erm excuse me - Mr Olusegun turned down the Witter fight !!