Esepo eyes three-division belts after Sojar Boy triumph

Fresh from his unanimous decision victory over Tosin ‘Sojar Boy’ Osaigbovo on Sunday, new WBA Africa lightweight champion Taiwo ‘Esepo’ Agbaje has set his sights on becoming a three-division champion in Nigeria, revealing he had already contacted the Nigeria Boxing Board of Control about his ambitions before the fight, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

“I have called the appropriate body. I already told them I want to control three division weights in Nigeria before this fight because I knew I would win the belt. I want to be a three-division champion, that is, featherweight, super-featherweight, and lightweight. I know I can do it,” Agbaje told PUNCH Sports Extra.

The declaration comes less than 24 hours after Agbaje, a former WBF Intercontinental featherweight champion, claimed the WBA Africa lightweight title at the sold-out Brai Ayanote Boxing Hall in the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, improving his record to 19-0. The victory means he has now won a title two weight classes above where he began his professional career.

On the possibility of a rematch with Osaigbovo, Agbaje was dismissive, turning the pre-fight words of his opponent back on him.

“None of my opponents have ever come back to me for a rematch.

You can ask a lot of boxers who fought with me — they don’t come back for a rematch. They can’t, because they know what I do to them in the ring,” he said.

The reversal is not lost on those who followed the build-up to Sunday’s bout. Before the fight, it was Osaigbovo who had declared that if Agbaje wanted a rematch after losing, he could “join the queue.”

 It is now the younger fighter who may find himself at the back of that same line, should Agbaje decline an immediate rematch.

Agbaje, now the reigning WBA Africa champion at lightweight, enters his three-division pursuit having already held the featherweight intercontinental belt, with the super-featherweight title the next logical step on his path to completing the treble.

Agbaje had entered Sunday’s contest having moved up two weight classes from featherweight, a risk that did little to dim his confidence in the build-up.

The bout itself was a spectacle that underlined the commercial potential of Nigerian professional boxing.

The Brai Ayanote Boxing Hall was filled to capacity, with fans standing in the aisles throughout the 10 rounds as Osaigbovo repeatedly stuck out his tongue to taunt Agbaje during exchanges, a theatrical touch that entertained the crowd but could not prevent the judges from ruling unanimously in Agbaje’s favour at the final bell.