2016 Olympic heavyweight Guido “The Gladiator” Vianello (10-0-1, 9 KOs) will now take on Jonnie Rice (15-6-1, 10 KOs) on January 14 after his original foe Stephan “Big Shot” Shaw (18-0, 13 KOs) was moved into the main event. Rice re-energized his career with a fifth-round TKO over then-unbeaten prospect Michael Coffie in July 2021. He repeated the deed on New Year’s Day, outlasting Coffie via a 10-round unanimous decision.
Shaw will now face Efe “The Silent Roller” Ajagba (16-1, 13 KOs) at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.
“Stephan Shaw stepped up and has a tough task against one of the division’s biggest punchers in Efe Ajagba,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “We’re pleased that Guido will remain on the card against a formidable opponent in Jonnie Rice. This will be a fantastic heavyweight doubleheader at Turning Stone.”
Ajagba-Shaw and Vianello-Rice will be broadcast live on ESPN. Undercard bouts will stream on ESPN+ and includes a 10-round junior lightweight tilt between Adam “BluNose” Lopez and Abraham “El Super” Nova.
I have no idea what goes on in Jonnie Rices’s world, but you gotta wonder why he hasn’t been more active since his two wins over Coffie. Good to see he’s back at it and can restablish himself as someone to be leery of in the division…or maybe that’s precisely why he hasn’t been fighting?
Who knows what kind of shape Rice is in after a year off. He put on 15lbs in the four months between Coffee fights, hopefully he hasn’t done that again. If he’s on, I’d probably lean towards him winning this one and, I would also guess that he also has found his way from PBC which may mean more activity.