On Saturday night at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX, heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs) faced an opponent in Ryad Merhy (32-3, 26 KOs), who was a career cruiserweight but had enough knockouts to give Anderson a good fight at heavyweight. Instead, fans who tuned in got a boring heavyweight fight. Usually, the words boring and heavyweight don’t go together, but last night, it wasn’t what anyone signed up for, including Top Rank, who hosted the event.
This fight was supposed to line up another impressive win for Anderson, which was his first this year, but instead, it smeared the momentum he had carried over from last year. Merhy didn’t want to fight, which was clear after the first round, but the rest of the fight involved Anderson throwing punches and Merhy taking them without firing back. It was terrible, and you felt the frustration from Anderson after each round as he heard the boos raining from the stands.
After the unanimous decision victory, Anderson was visibly frustrated during the post-fight interview and said, “Another day, another night in the office. I wanted to give the fans a better show, but what can you do when they show up to fight like him. It’s just another day in the office. We’re going to continue working.” Anderson continued, “I stayed sharp for ten rounds. That’s the biggest takeaway. I got to make some changes. I made some mistakes. I got hit with a few punches. I shouldn’t have gotten hit at all because he didn’t even come here to fight.”
Social media did not take too kindly to the performance and wasn’t trying to hear anything other than it was a boring fight, which, ironically, was said the same about Shakur Stevenson’s last fight, who was in attendance ringside. It wasn’t what Anderson needed at this point of his career, but he was likely relieved that he had made it through the less-than-entertaining fight.
What is Jared Anderson’s Career Trajectory?
When it comes to Anderson, it’s hard to say how Top Rank will handle him, given that his incidents outside of the ring have become a distraction. Per the telecast, Anderson has a court date on Monday to determine the outcome of his last incident, where he was evading the police at speeds in excess of 130 MPH. Anderson is being charged with a third-degree felony, and this is after pleading to a no-contest for being caught with a firearm in his car last year.
It’s hard to say where Anderson’s career trajectory is going. He’s a liability with the talent that sees his promoter struggling to find opponents. Top Rank’s Bob Arum mentioned in August that Anderson would be ready for some sort of title contention by 2025, but that timeline was pushed back, as Tim Bradley mentioned in Saturday night’s telecast that it would be 2026. As time passes, the timeline seems to get pushed further back, but Top Rank will find themselves pinned to a corner if the opponents put up against Anderson have performances like Merhy had on Saturday night. I agree with Top Rank that he’s still about two years away from a title shot but will Anderson have the patience for that?
Who Does Jared Anderson Face Next?
After Anderson’s unanimous decision victory, he announced that his next fight would be back in Toledo, OH, in the late summer. This fight needs to be one that he impresses, and the opponent’s name has to be someone recognizable. Well, it looks like Top Rank had two potential opponents, and they faced off as the co-main. Efe Ajagba earned a split decision over Guido Vianello but looked exciting and vulnerable simultaneously. It may be a stretch as Ajagba and Anderson are managed by J-Prince, but Top Rank may force Prince’s hand in making the fight.
Although it was considered a “pink slip” fight on Saturday night, Vianello may have done just enough to earn another fight with Top Rank, and he could be the one who gets the Anderson fight. This looks like a real option for Anderson, but is there anyone else out there? A fight with Michael Hunter could be exciting, but it is also risky. Otto Wallin is another name that could work, as could someone like Luis Ortiz.
Anderson has options and is only 24 years old, but what Top Rank has in mind and what Anderson wants seem to be two totally different things. “I want all of the names. If I’m ranked with you and your name is near mine, then we can get it crackin’. We’re coming to knock everybody off.” It sounds like Anderson wants to speed up that 2026 timeline and the only way he will be able to do that is if he gets some quality opponents soon and wins impressively.
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