Heavyweight Jared Anderson (17-1, 15 KOs) needs an impressive showing next month against Marios Kollias (12-3-1, 10 KOs) on Friday, February 14, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. This is a fight aimed at rebuilding Anderon's confidence after what happened to him in his last fight on August 3.
Prisoner's nightmare
“Big Kid” Anderson, a 25-year-old who has been promoted to the top rank, has been destroyed by Martin Bacoli Five rounds last August, and he looked terrible in that fight. Jared was completely overwhelmed from the jump, falling in the first round. The fight could have ended in the first round if the knockout happened early because Anderson looked like he was finished after getting up.
Bakool was too strong for Anderson. In the fifth, he knocked Anderson down twice more to get the knockout. She wasn't even an athlete. Promoter Bob Arum hasn't given up on Jared, but you have to believe he will soon if he keeps performing like this.
If you're Arum, you should consider throwing Anderson overboard if he looks bad against the unknown Kollias. This is kind of a fight to boost Jared's confidence, but if he looks terrible here, Arum should get rid of him. He is still young enough to improve, but his resistance to punches, lack of strength, and timid way of fighting make it unlikely that he will improve.
Anderson looks good when throwing combos and attacking vulnerable prey, but he looked terrible against Bakool. The guys at the top of the heavyweight division are getting old.
So, there's a chance that Jared could grab one of the belts once the old guys retire, but not if he faces anyone with power, like Bacoli or even Zhili Zhang. He is 41 years old, but he is still very dangerous for Anderson. If Arum can protect Jared long enough, he may be able to capture the belt at some point. He will have to keep him away from anyone with power because he will be destroyed like he did against Bakul.
This wasn't the first time Anderson looked stylish. He was injured in his fights against Jerry Forrest and Charles Martin. Those fights showed that Jared's ability to hold his own even with lower level fighters was nonexistent. It is very fragile. This is what I will do.
Arum still believes in Jared
Anderson Koleas will fight a 10-man bracket on the undercard of Denis Perincek vs. Keshawn Davis on ESPN and ESPN+.
“I still believe Jared Anderson is one of the strongest heavyweights in the world, and I expect him to come back strong this year,” Arum said.
Keyshawn Davis is another one of Arum's projects that he's trying to turn into a star. However, he needed protection just like Jared. He has already faced problems in his fights against Naher Albright and Miguel Madueno.
Keyshawn was like a WWE wrestler against Madueno, and the referee didn't disqualify him because of all the violent tactics he used in that fight. Davis looked desperate to win and emptied the coffers of any trick he could to prevent Madueno from knocking him out.
Andy Cruz worked on Keyshawn at the 2020 Olympics, easily defeating him in a one-sided battle for gold in the finals. It was surprising that Arum chose to sign Keshawn after that loss instead of Cruz. I think he thinks he can build it with his ability to talk trash instead of fight.
