Junior welterweight contender Olusegun Ajose will take on "Hammerin'" Hank Lundy on July 19 in a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight fight, promoter Lou DiBella announced on Monday.
The bout, which will headline ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights," will take place at Rockingham Park, the 107-year-old horse racing track in Salem, N.H.
"In the main event, you have two proven contenders, with the winner taking a major step toward challenging for a world championship in the loaded 140-pound division," DiBella said.
Ajose was originally scheduled to face former lightweight title challenger Mercito Gesta (21-1-1, 14 KOs) of the Philippines, but he withdrew from the bout after suffering a rib injury in his training camp.
"This fight is a great opportunity for both of us to show the world just how good we are," Ajose said. "It is going to be a fire-for-fire fight, an exciting one that the boxing fans want to see. I am excited and I can't wait to put on a great performance."
The 33-year-old Ajose (31-1, 14 KOs), who was born in Nigeria and lives in England, suffered his lone professional defeat in September, when he was stopped in the 10th round of an action-packed fight by powerful Lucas Matthysse in an interim title bout. Ajose bounced back on April 20 with an eight-round decision victory against sub-.500 Rynell Griffin.
Philadelphia's Lundy (22-3-1, 11 KOs), 29, a regular on "Friday Night Fights" for the past few years, was a longtime lightweight contender but he will be fighting as a junior welterweight for the second consecutive fight. Lundy has also lost two bouts in a row, a majority 10-round decision against Raymundo Beltran in a July 2012 lightweight bout in Atlantic City, N.J., and a unanimous 12-round decision to Viktor Postal in Ukraine on March 21. He needs a win in the worst way.
"We know all about Ajose," Lundy said. "I was supposed to fight Lucas Matthysse, but that fell through. I thought I would've beaten Matthysse. Ajose fought him and we all saw what happened. This fight is going to be a good win for me. I'm coming to win. I'm coming off an upset loss in the Ukraine. I actually won the fight. I know what's going on now. I'm moving up to 140, so everyone thinks I'm going to be the smaller guy. Come fight night, they're going to see a new Hank Lundy. I started my career at 140 pounds. At 140, I'm actually stronger, more powerful.
"I was killing my body to make 135 pounds, coming down from 160. I'm a muscular guy. I don't have a lot of body fat. I'm going to be a powerhouse and I'm going to display some of my punching power that night."
In the co-feature, unbeaten junior lightweights Ryan "The Polish Prince" Kielczweski (16-0, 3 KOs) and Miguel Soto (11-0, 11 KOs) meet in a scheduled eight-round bout.
"You have two undefeated prospects taking a major step up in their respective careers," DiBella said.
The card will be the first "FNF" card at Rockingham Park since 2007 and the third in the track's history.