Unbeaten heavyweight contender Jared Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs) picked up his 17th win on Saturday night, beating Ryad Merhy (32-3, 26 KOs) by a ten-round unanimous decision in a fight that was booed loudly by fans at ringside at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. The scores were 100-90, 100-90, and 99-91.
Lack of Action Leaves Crowd Disgruntled
The fight resembled a sparring match more than a real one, and neither man seemed interested in going all out to make it entertaining for the fans. The boos were echoing around the American Bank Center due to the lack of action.
Anderson should have gone all out for the knockout. His opponent wasn’t throwing punches, and he could have unloaded on him to score a stoppage.
It appeared that Anderson had second thoughts about going for a knockout after he was nailed by a big left hook from Merhy, who had better hand speed and power. He just wasn’t throwing for some reason.
If Merhy had let his hands go, he might have scored an upset victory over Anderson. The confidence just wasn’t there.
This was not the kind of performance from the 24-year-old Top Rank-promoted Anderson that would worry any of the division’s top-level heavyweights.
Jared showed zero power and a complete lack of killer instinct against a guy who was a punching bag with arms. Anderson would retreat each time Merhy attempted to throw a punch, which was one reason they failed to knock him out.
Ajagba Outlasts Vianello in Rollercoaster Fight
The co-main event was an entertaining one, with 2016 Olympians Efe Ajagba (20-1, 14 KOs) and Guido “The Gladiator” Vianello (12-2-1, 10 KOs) looking horns and going to war for ten exciting rounds. Ajagba won a ten-round split decision. The scores were 96-94 Vianello, 96-94, 96-94 Ajagba.
Vianello got the better of the early action, rocking Ajagba in round two with a right hand after catching him backing up. The 6’6″ Ajagba walked to the wrong corner after the round ended.
Ajagba recovered and turned the fight in his favor, landing sharp punches against a tired Vianello, and appeared to sweep rounds 3 through 8. Vianello came on in the ninth and tenth to make the fight close, but Ajagba did enough to earn a ten-round split decision.
What’s Next?
Anderson’s performance raises questions about whether he’s got the talent to get to the next level. I don’t see Top Rank dumping Anderson, given that they’ve poured so much money in his career, but he’s not going to go far.
It’s believed that Top Rank is going to protect Anderson long enough to move him in position to fight for one of the titles once Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua retire.
They also could use him as an opponent for one of those guys to get a cash-out, and once he loses, continue protecting him until they retire and then slide him back in.
