By Allan Fox: Heavyweight Jared Anderson weighed in at 239.6 lbs, and his opponent journeyman Andriy Rudenko came in at 244.3 lbs on Friday at the weigh-in for their ten round headliner this Saturday, August 26th, at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event starts at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT on ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+.
Top Rank is matching the 23-year-old Jared Anderson against the 39-year-old Rudenko as a confidence builder to build his profile while at the same time giving him a mental boost after his lackluster performance against Charles Martin last July.
If the 6’3″ Anderson had looked good against the former IBF heavyweight champion Martin, Top Rank would likely match him against Zhan Kossobutskiy, but it’s too risky.
Jared was getting lit up like a Christmas tree by the 37-year-old Maarttin, and he’s clearly not ready for anyone with power and talent yet.
The big punching heavyweight Efe Ajagba (17-1, 13 KOs) weighed in at 236.5 lbs, and his opponent Zhan Kossobutskiy (19-0, 18 KOs) came in at 234.4 pounds for their 10 round co-feature.
This could be the of the night, as Ajagba and Kossobutskiy are both contenders with power. The 6’6″ Ajagba hasn’t looked like the fighter he once was since his loss to Frank Sanchez in 2021.
After that loss, Ajagba changed his fighting style, choosing to box his opponents, and he looked terrible in his last fight against Stephen Shaw.
Anderson-Rudenko undercard weights For Saturday
Efe Ajagba 236.5 vs. Zhan Kossobutskiy 234.4
Bruce Carrington 126.7 vs. Angel Antonio Contreras 126.8
Jeremiah Milton 254.4 vs. Craig Lewis 260.4
Nico Ali Walsh 159.1 vs. Sona Akale 157.9
Abdullah Mason 134.9 vs. Cesar Villarraga 134.7
Ablaikhan Zhussupov 149.7 vs. Wiston Campos 149.8
Charly Suarez 130.6 vs. Yohan Vasquez 129.6
Bakhodir Jalolov 253.6 vs. Onoriode Ehwarieme 224.9
“Kossobutskiy, he’s the uh the main support on this card and fighting Efe Ajagba,” said trainer Kevin Barry to SlothBoxx. “I think I think this is a very dangerous fight for Ajagba.
“In his last fight against Stephen Shaw, he looked very timid. He looked like a guy that. I remember when he started his career; he was this big, tall, powerful, muscular Nigerian who was knocking guys spark out.
“In fact, one year, I think two or three years ago, he had the KO of the year on ESPN. That guy seems to have disappeared in his last fight against Stephen Shaw.
“Okay, Shaw was undefeated, but he was no dangerous puncher, and he boxed him for 10 rounds and won a two-round decision. I think it was 96-94 by all three judges, but not a good performance.
“Now if he fights timidly against a fighter like Kossobutskiy, who, by the way, in his last three fights, he’s twice ko’d undefeated prospects. So this is a guy that the WBC has him ranked at nine.
“Ajagba is ranked at 14. He’s a very heavy-handed fighter, and I think it’s going to be a very dangerous fight for Efe Ajagba.
“I know the bookmakers have it as a pick ’em fight, but I just think Ajagba is going to have to show a little more than what he showed recently if he’s going to be competitive in this fight.
“I remember like two years ago when he [Ajagba] had his first loss and his only loss against Frank Sanchez. Sanchez had him down in that fight [in round seven], and he was still fighting out of a very aggressive style at that time.
“But after that fight with Sanchez when he lost and had to pick himself off the canvas in one round, he changed his style and started to be a little bit more reserved uh and a little bit more less aggressive. Anthony Joshua had adopted a very similar style in recent fights,” said Barry.