Former WBA cruiserweight champ Ryan Merhy of Belgium is convinced unbeaten heavyweight prospect/contender Jared Anderson, 16-0(15) has made a big mistake in agreeing to fight him next. As fans may know (see article below on Anderson), the two will clash in Corpus Christie this Saturday night, and while 24 year old Anderson is being groomed for stardom, Merhy, at age 31, says he will knock Anderson off and then fight for the bridgerweight world title.
Merhy, 32-2(26) tells Sky Sports he will prove wrong the experts, such as Tyson Fury, who say Anderson is the next big thing at heavyweight.
“I’m the future guy who is going to beat the future champion, Jared will lose that fight and I’ll prove Tyson Fury wrong,” Merhy said. “The only name I know of Jared’s opponents is Charles Martin, that’s the only name we knew from anybody he fought. Can we compare him to an Olympic gold medallist (Tony Yoka, who Merhy holds a recent win over)? He is a very young fighter who has a lot of things to prove. We spoke about his power but you have to see who he knocked out before. He’s doing pretty well with his skills, we will see on the night who is the better fighter.”
Saturday’s fight is an interesting one. Anderson hasn’t boxed since August so he could be a little rusty in there, while Merhy, who last fought in December, has only been stopped one time, this by Arsen Goulamirian in a cruiserweight title fight back in 2018. Merhy is right when he says “Prince” Charles Martin is the biggest name on Anderson’s resume, and the former IBF heavyweight champ gave Anderson a tough night’s work in taking him the distance.
We may find out quite a bit about Anderson on Saturday night.
Merhay says he will get the win and then drop down to bridgerweight.
“Let’s be reasonable, my first goal is to be world champion in the bridgerweight division,” he said. “That’s my first goal, become world champion at bridgerweight and then if opportunities come again at heavyweight I will catch it. There’s no pressure [going into the Anderson fight]. I’m not a heavyweight, I’m a bridgerweight so it’s just an opportunity I’ve caught.”
The difference in size could of course prove to be a factor – Merhy standing just 5’11” to Anderson’s 6’4” – but Merhy, who is a warrior, is sure talking a great fight going in. Might we see the upset on Saturday?