By Jim Calfa: Unbeaten Jared Anderson fights Zhan Kossobutskiy in the main event, while the hard-hitting contender Arslanbek Makhmudov takes on Raphael Akpejiori in the chief support bout in a dual heavyweight card on July 1st at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio.
For Top Rank to put Jared in the main event so quickly in his career on ESPN suggests that they’re giving him the express trip to the top, hoping to turn him into a household name and make him a star overnight.
Promoter Bob Arum predicts that Anderson will become one of the world’s heavyweight champions. We’ll see eventually if that turns out to be the case.
At 6’4,” Anderson is on the small side to be a champion, and he’s not overly powerful or fast. What he does have on his side is youth, so he can wait around until guys like Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Oleksandr Usyk all retire.
The card begins at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+. Anderson vs. Kazakhstan’s Kossobutskiy is scheduled for ten rounds, but it probably won’t last that long. You have to assume that Kossobutskiy has been well-vetted by Top Raank and deemed a non-threat to Jared.
Boxing fans on social media are grumbling about how they would have preferred to see Top Rank, the promoters for the card, match the 23-year-old Jared Anderson (14-0, 14 KOs) against Arslanbek Makhmudov (16-0, 15 KOs) instead of the 34-year-old Kossobutskiy (19-0, 18 KOs), who they’ve never heard of or seen before.
In fairness to Top Rank, that would have TOO much of a step up for ‘thee 6’4″ Jared Anderson because he’s too easy to hit, and his defense is porous, to say the least.
It’s one thing getting hit by light punchers like George Arias and another to be nailed repeatedly by Makhmudov, particularly if the shots land around the backside of Jared Anderson’s head. Makhmudov’s fights against Michael Wallisch and Carlos Takam, they were hit with some accidental rabbit punches.
It’s difficult to know how good Jared Anderson is because he hasn’t fought top-tier opposition during his four-year professional career.
“Jared Anderson is a proud son of Toledo, and we are thrilled to bring Top Rank and ESPN to the ‘Glass City,’” said Arum. “Ever since Jared turned pro, we have set our sights on Toledo as a fight destination. He is now the best young heavyweight in the world, and the time was right to bring ‘The Real Big Baby’ home. Zhan Kossobutskiy is a ferocious puncher in his own right, and I expect an action-packed fight in front of a raucous, sold-out Huntington Center crowd.”
Anderson has worked with Tyson Fury in the past as his sparring partner, and three were rumors that emerged afterward that he’d worked over the 6’9′ champion.
Whether that’s true or not is unknown, but it’s quite possible given how Tyson has slowed down in recent years and has a habit of mauling & fighting off the ropes. That’s not an approach you want to use against Anderson because he feasts on maulers, and he tees off on heavyweights that fight off the ropes.
If Anderson wins this fight against Zhan Kossobutskiy, it’ll be interesting to see who Top Rank looks to put him in against. They can’t keep looking for unknown second-tier opposition if they’re serious about improving Anderson and making him a star. Boxing fans have never heard of Kossobutskiy or any of Anderson’s previous 14 opponents, so it’s hard to get excited about his potential.
The way for Anderson to build a genuine fan base and to improve is by Top Rank matching him against quality heavyweights like these guys:
- Arslanbek Makhmudov
- Andy Ruiz Jr
- Deontay Wilder
- Frank Sanchez
- Zhilei Zhang
- Joe Joyce
