The heavyweight division is currently undergoing a changing of the guard.
With Tyson Fury already having announced his retirement and the likes of Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk just two or three fights away from doing the same, boxing’s top weight class is looking for its next set of elite superstars.
IBF World Champion Daniel Dubois leads the charge, with the likes of Martin Bakole, Joseph Parker and Agit Kabayel – albeit all older than ‘DDD’ – behind him.
One name fans of the sport had high hopes for is Jared Anderson. The Toledo, Ohio native is a switch-hitter with power and speed and breezed through his first 14 contests with 14 stoppages. His chin was then tested by invigorated former world champion Charles Martin, but Anderson ultimately passed the test.
Last August he was matched, incorrectly in the eyes of many, against Bakole. The 25-year-old decided to trade with Bakole and quickly paid the price, touching the canvas three times before being stopped for good in the fifth. Any momentum as the heavyweight division’s most exciting prospect was cruelly halted.
Anderson returns this weekend on the undercard of Keyshawn Davis’ lightweight world title challenge against Denys Berinchyk, facing Greece’s Marios Kollias (12-3-1, 10 KOs).
Speaking to the Ring Magazine ahead of the heavyweight contest, Anderson was asked if he was gunning for a knockout or to bank rounds after inactivity.
“I think I’m gonna go for making a statement, simply because I’ve been out for a little while and I just wanna give the people a taste of what they’ve been missing. I had a lot of people reach out to tell me they’re waiting on me to get back to the ring, so I think making a statement would be the best choice.”
On the Bakole loss, the young heavyweight was honest in his assessment.
“I learned I’m never gonna be the toughest, never gonna be the strongest, and I gotta go in there with a good gameplan and stick to it. I got hit with a good shot early on. I strayed away from any gameplan and I just had to be the toughest guy, which obviously didn’t work out for me. From here on out, sticking to the plan, doing whatever I did in camp and just being the better fighter. Sticking to my skills instead of trying to use brute strength.”
‘Big Baby’ expressed an interest in a rematch with Bakole down the line. The first step is looking good against Kollias tonight in New York.
