Rising prospect Jared Anderson looks to turn heavyweight contender with a win over a solid vet in Charles Martin tonight, live in ESPN+. It should be noted Charles Martin was in training camp to appear in an undercard bout on the Errol Spence vs. Terrence Crawford PPV.
Prior to that, his fight with Gurgen Hovhannisyan was to appear on the undercard of the Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia PPV card. Although Martin comes in as a late replacement, it appears he’s in good shape. The combinations of a legit opponent, fighting in front of the home, and being broadcast on ESPN will give Anderson’s profile a nice boost. The heavyweight theme in the co-feature fits the bill as well with a matchup of unbeatens Makhmudov vs. Akpejiori.
This is a crucial stage in Jared’s career, and quality rounds are exactly what Anderson needs having only reached the 6th round once. At 14-0, all wins coming via stoppage, it sure would be nice if Anderson is pushed enough to face reel adversity beyond a round or two. In his last top-level outing, Charles Martin went to war in a two-way scrap that involved serious drama.
Martin knocked down Ortiz not once but twice before getting frozen in this his tracks by a nasty overhand left hand from Luis. If Martin remains calm using his jab at the right distance, we could get exactly what the doctor ordered for the development of Anderson. That said if indeed Martin is in fighting shape, he should be considered a live dog sitting at +730 all the way up to +900.
Unless “The Real Big Baby” lands a huge punch that hurts Martin early, it will be interesting to see how Anderson reacts to getting caught with clean punches in general. This boxing podcaster brings that topic up because we saw how Jared reacted early to clean, active punching by Jerry Forrest.
It was as if Anderson was so mad he had gotten hit flush and attacked he wanted to prove a point immediately. Now that’s all fine and dandy as a prospect, but as the Toledo native climbs the heavyweight ladder, he will pay a dear price for a response like that. Keeping his composure will be a key moving forward; that way, he can show more layers, learning how to win rounds without having to expose his chin in an attempt to score a highlight reel knockout over anger or embarrassment.
The hometown fans, especially family and friends, asking for tickets along with media responsibilities can be draining and/or make it easier to take your eye off the prize. Roy Jones Jr. gave a pep talk to Anderson, trying to motivate him based off of some recent early retirement comments Jared made.
Don’t get me wrong, retiring early in this sport is music to this long-time boxing fan’s ears. However, it’s fair to question a boxer’s love for the sport and commitment level when they’re already talking about quitting the sport in a few years at age 23. All and all, the skill level, youth, and punching power leans too heavily in Jared Anderson’s direction not to pick him to win this Saturday.
My Official Prediction is Jared Anderson via mid-to-late round KO.
Side Note: As a reminder, the U.K. has two interesting main events Saturday afternoon stateside time Franchon Crews-Dezurn vs. Savannah Marshall on ESPN+ and Dalton Smith vs. Sam Maxwell live on DAZN.
Written by Chris Carlson, Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast Available at www.blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio