Efe Ajagba vs Charles Martin Preview Feb. 15th, 2026
Hard-hitting heavyweights Efe Ajagba of Nigeria and former IBF Champion Charles Martin of St. Louis are set to slug it out over 10 rounds this Sunday, February 15th. The fight from Las Vegas, Nevada can be seen live on Paramount+. Ajagba last fought in May when he battled to a 10-round majority draw with Martin Bakole. In Ajagba’s previous outing in April, 2024 he edged Guido Vianello via a 10-round split decision to retain his WBC Silver Heavyweight Title. Martin’s last ring experience resulted in a first-round KO over Matthew McKinney in November, 2024.
Ajagba vs Martin Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Charles Martin +450
- Efe Ajagba -700
My Pick
The 31-year-old Ajagba now fights out of Stafford, Texas and climbs through the ropes with a fine mark of 20-1-1 with 14 Ko’s. He’s obviously got good power in his fists as 70 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. He has gone the distance in his last two fights though. Ajagba also has plenty of size as he stands 6-feet-6-inches tall with an 85-inch reach. Ajagba enjoyed a successful amateur career and made it to the quarterfinal of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in the super heavyweight division. He also won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland in 2014.
Ajagba turned pro in 2017 a year after the Olympics and has been pretty busy ever since. He’s fought 22 times but has boxed only 103 pro rounds due to his power. He’s been the distance just six times as a pro as Ali Eren Demirezen took him 10 rounds in July, 2019; Jonathan Rice went 10 rounds in 2020; Frank Sanchez beat him via a 10-round unanimous decision in 2021 for his only pro defeat; Stephan Shaw went 10 rounds in January, 2023 and Vianello and Bakole went the distance in his last two outings. The loss to Sanchez was for the WBC Continental Americas, and WBO NABO Heavyweight Titles.
Ajagba beat Curtis Harper by disqualification in 2018 when Harper walked out of the ring before the opening bell and he beat Zhan Kossobutskiy by DQ in the fourth round for the vacant WBC Silver Belt in 2023 when his opponent kept hitting him with low blows. Ajagba’s also beaten Michael Wallisch, Iago Kiladze, Jonathan Rice, Brian Howard, Razvan Cojanu and Amir Mansour. He hasn’t fought many elite-level opponents but at least each of Ajagba’s 22 foes entered the ring with a winning record. His chin has held up pretty well so far but it should be noted that Kiladze decked him in the third round in 2019 before Ajagba stopped him in the fifth and Sanchez scored a flash knockdown in the seventh round.
Martin is a southpaw who will be turning 40 years old in April and makes the ring walk with a record of 30-4-1 with 27 Ko’s. He won the vacant IBF title against Vyacheslav Glazkov in January, 2016 when Glazkov suffered a knee injury in the third round. The title was vacant after it was stripped from Tyson Fury for failing to defend his crown against Glazkov. However, Martin was stopped in the second round by Anthony Joshua in his first defence of the belt just three months later. Martin has good size at 6-feet-5-inches and an 80-inch reach but he’s giving up an inch in height and five inches in reach to Ajagba here.
He does have a pretty good jab and isn’t a bad combination puncher but Martin’s gotten this far in his career due to his power. And that power is pretty evident as 27 of his 30 wins have come by stoppage which translates to 90 per cent of them, including his last four. Of course on the down side, Martin’s chin is somewhat questionable though as his first and third pro defeats were by stoppage to Joshua in the second round in 2016 and to Luis Ortiz in the sixth round of a slugfest in January, 2022 after he had Ortiz down in the first and fourth rounds.
Martin’s second pro loss came at the hands of Adam Kownacki via a close 10-round unanimous decision in 2018 and his last defeat was a 10-round unanimous decision to Jared Anderson in a shot at the WBC USA, and WBO International Heavyweight Titles after being dropped in the third round. Since Martin’s fights rarely go the distance it means he’s fought just 126 rounds in 35 fights since turning pro in 2012. His lone draw was a four-round affair with Alvaro Morales back in 2013.
Martin has struggled when stepping up in class but also has wins against the likes of Devin Vargas, Gerald Washington, Vincent Thompson, Joey Dawejko, Glendy Hernandez, Tyyab Beale, Alexander Flores, Raphael Zumbano, Damon McCreary, Tom Dallas, Byron Polley and Michael Marrone. Martin captured the vacant WBO NABO Heavyweight title with his fourth-round stoppage of Flores in 2014 and defended it four times.
Prediction…
Ajagba seems to have all the tools to become a legitimate heavyweight contender but doesn’t use them often enough. He looked lethargic against Frank Sanchez and often doesn’t let his hands go as he shows no urgency. He seemed to have learned his lesson in that fight though as he’s looked much better since that defeat. He usually comes into the ring in tremendous physical shape while Martin often looks a little soft around the middle. Martin hasn’t been too active lately and this is his first fight in over a year. He’s never really out of a fight though due to his power. However if Ajagba stays busy each round he’ll outbox Martin as long as he’s wary of that power and his chin holds out. Of course, Ajagba also has a good shot at stopping Martin.
Ajagba is nine years younger and in great shape.
Play Ajagba -700 @ BetOnline.ag
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Charles Martin betting • Efe Ajagba betting