Toledo’s knockout king is the next star of the heavyweight division. This summer, Jared Anderson bids to emerge from the wreckage of a mini-tournament.
Anderson will take center stage in front of a hometown crowd on July 1. His next bout is part of a four-strong semi-final of heavyweight wrecking machines.
Between them, they hold 64 wins and 61 knockouts – many of them early.
Heavyweight Wrecking Machines
“The Real Big Baby” will fight Kazakhstan’s Zhan’ The Heavyweight GGG’ Kossobutskiy in the ten-round main event at Toledo’s Huntington Center.
In the co-feature, Montreal-based Russian stunner Arslanbek Makhmudov takes on Nigeria’s Raphael Akpejiori.
Looking at the chances, Anderson is the one many predict will emerge from undefeated devastation. A world title won’t be far away if he does.
“I’m happy to be here,” said Anderson standing side-by-side with his promoter. “I’m feeling so loved and embraced here.
“It means everything to me. I plan to put on a great show. I plan to show the kids and the city that we are still fighting and are one of the biggest small cities in the nation. The world will know us.”
Discussing the early stages of training, the sparring partner of WBC champion Tyson Fury added: “I’ve been in the gym going crazy.
“As you can see, my body shows it. My fights show it. My power shows it. I will keep pushing and stay on track, so this train keeps going.”
“I’m super excited. I’m happy to see all the familiar faces, friends, and family. The cameras are good, but I’m doing this for the city.
“I’m doing this for the people that are here. I’m doing this for the people that don’t have phones in their hands and are out there in the world right now fighting to survive.
“I’ve been fighting to survive for a long time. Now that I don’t have to do that. I want to show you all that. Hopefully, you won’t have to do that, too.
“Just keep fighting. Keep striving to be better. You will get there for sure.”
Jared Anderson is the future of the division
Hall of Fame Promoter and Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum was beaming with pride at the event announcement.
“I’m happy to be here because this is Jared Anderson’s hometown. We told him he would fight his first main event here in Toledo one day.”
On pitting Anderson against a solid contender, Arum added: “Jared is here. And just because he’s here doesn’t mean he gets a piece of cake.
“He is fighting a very, very tough competitor because we believe that Jared will be the future heavyweight champion of the world.
“But to do that, he’s got to fight really tough guys. And we’ve gotten him an opponent from Kazakhstan who is 19-0 with 18 knockouts.”
Anderson-Kossobutskiy and Makhmudov-Akpejiori will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Universum Boxing, tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com.
