By Robert Segal: Heavyweight contender Jared Anderson (15-0, 14 KOs) was hurt multiple times en route to winning a 10 round unanimous decision over former IBF champion Charles Martin (28-4-1, 26 KOs) on Saturday night at the Huntington Center, Toledo.
The scores were:
- 98-91
- 99-90
- 99-90
In the tenth, Anderson made the mistake of celebrating with 40 seconds left, waiting to the crowd. Moments later, Martin nailed Anderson with a monstrous left to the head that buckled his legs.
You can argue that heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov would have beaten Jared Anderson had he been matched against him tonight. He was the far better fighter than Anderson, who used a pull-back move the entire fight.
Martin then attempted to finish off the hurt 23-year-old Anderson but was grabbed and held tightly.
All in all, not an impressive performance by Anderson because he was hurt too many times by the 37-year-old Martin, who isn’t one of the major players in the division.
Martin hurt Anderson with a left hand to the head in the third, and he continued to be hurt by additional shots.
The 37-year-old Martin blew his opportunity by failing to go on the attack in the sixth round, giving it to Anderson by default by doing nothing.
In the seventh, Martin caught Anderson with several left hands as he came forward. But like in the previous round, Martin circled the ring too much and allowed Anderson to dictate the pace.
By the eighth round, Martin started looking tired and had nothing on his punches. In the ninth, Martin caught Anderson with a hard left to th head in the final seconds that appeared to buzz him.
Martin was dropped in round three when his feet got tangled with Anderson. The referee still ruled it a knockdown, but it was clear on the replay that Martin had tripped over the 23-year-old Anderson’s lead foot.
In round four, Anderson went on the attack, landing some nice shot with a flurry of punches that caught Maartin to the head.
Undercard results:
In the chief support bout, Unbeaten lightweight prospect Abdullah Mason (9-0, 8 KOs) knocked out Alex de Oliveira (20-5, 14 KOs). Mason cornered de Oliveira in the second round and dropped him with a right to the head.
De Oliveira had nothing to fend Mason off, as he was getting hit at will with shots, and he couldn’t keep him honest with any of the punches he was throwing back.
Referee James Easter then stopped the contest at 2:18 of round two.
#5 WBC heavyweight contender Arslanbek Makhmudov (17-0, 16 KOs) bludgeoned Raphael Akpejiori (15-1, 14 KOs) to the canvas twice en route to a second round knockout in a ten round scheduled bout.
Makhmudov, 34, nailed the spoiling, mauling Akpejiori with numerous uppercuts in the first round, and looping right-hand rabbit punches. Near the end of the round, Makhmudov caught Akpejiori with a beautiful right hand to the head that sent him down.
Akpejiori was in survival mode from the opening bell in the first, grabbing Makhmudov repeatedly to try and hold him off, but it failed to work. The referee told both fighters to stop wrestling, but it was clear that it was being done exclusively by Akpejiori.
Unbeaten super featherweight Tiger Johnson (9-0, 5 KOs) cruised to n eight round unanimous decision over Jonathan Montrel (15-2, 10 KOs). Johnson had too much firepower for Montrel, as he peppered him with shots and dealt with his return fir with ease in this mismatch.
The scores: 80-72, 80-72, and 80-72.
Other results:
Dante Benjamin Jr. KO 1 Mirady Zola. 1:56.
DeAndre Ware KOs) UD 6 Decarlo Perez. Scores 58-56, 59-55, and 59-55.
Rance Ward MD 6 Husam Al Mashadi. Scores: 58-57, 59-55, and 57-57.
Tyler McCreary UD 6 Deivi Julio. Scores: 59-54, 57-56, and 57-56.
Nicklaus Flaz (MD 8 Jahi Tucker. Scores 76-76, 78-74, and 77-75.