By Jim Calfa: Undefeated heavyweight contended Anderson (14-0, 14 KOs) says he’s ready for the “top names” in the division following his third-round stoppage victory over previously undefeated George Arias (18-1, 7 KOs) last Saturday night in a Top Rank-promoted card on ESPN at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Anderson’s promoters at Top Rank have been very careful with him, matching him against exclusively second-tier opposition and keeping the 23-year-old away from the killers in the division. It’s easy to see why.
Anderson lacks defense and punching power, which would put him at a distinct disadvantage if Top Rank threw him in with someone like Joe Joyce, Filip Hrgovic, Deontay Wilder, or Andy Ruiz Jr. Anderson needs a lot more work on defense and developing his nonexistent punching power before he’s ready to take on contenders.
What Anderson has going for him is his youth. He’s young enough to where Top Rank can wait until the current top heavyweights age more or retire before positioning Jared for a world title.
Is Jared Anderson ready for top heavyweights?
“I’m the best heavyweight in the world. I don’t give a f**k what nobody is talking about,” said Jared Anderson to Top Rank Boxing following his victory over George Arias last Saturday night in Newark.
“You hear me? I made that look easy, man, because he helped me make it look easy. He wasn’t throwing punches for real. I kept my defense right. My jab was on point. It was an easy night.
“I want those top names. I want those top contenders. Everybody who keeps calling people out, put my name on the list now. I’m not ducking. I’m not running. And you’re going to catch this smoke,” said Anderson.
Anderson is ranked #9 WBO, #11 WBA & #11 WBC, and that’s not high enough to force a world title shot against IBF/WBA/WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk or WBC champ Tyson Fury.
Top Rank needs to wait a few more years before they consider putting Anderson in against a world champion because he would get picked apart by Usyk and outboxed by Fury. Joe Joyce would likely walk Anderson down and bludgeon him into submission. Anderson’s lack of power would put him at the mercy of a guy like Joyce.
Top heavyweights:
- Oleksandr Usyk – 36
- Deontay Wilder – 37
- Joe Joyce – 37
- Anthony Joshua – 33
- Tyson Fury – 34
- Zhilei Zhang – 39
- Andy Ruiz Jr – 33
A profusely sweating Anderson mostly followed Arias, jabbing, throwing arm punches, and getting tagged with big shots in the first two rounds. Anderson looked slow & ponderous in those rounds, showing little in the way of power.
In the final seconds of the third round, Anderson unloaded with a flurry of shots that opened up a cut over Arias’ left eye.
After the round ended, Arias’ corner pulled him out rather than letting him come out for the fourth and continue to absorb. It was a wise decision because Arias lacked the size and the work rate to keep Jared off him.
Jared Anderson’s recent opposition:
Jerry Forrest
Miljan Rovcanin
Oleksandr Teslenko
Vladimir Tereshkin
Jeremiah Karpency
