Heavyweight Jared Anderson will face Marius Kollias on the Keyshawn Davis vs. Denys Berinchyk on February 14 at the Hula Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Lance Pugmorepugboxing broke the news of “Big Baby” Anderson fighting Kollias on the Keyshawn-Berinchyk undercard. It's a relatively safe fight for Anderson, 25, but not entirely because he's been hurt more than once in his career by lower-level opposition.
Anderson should win
This isn't a great opponent for Jared Anderson, but he looked so bad in the last fight that he doesn't look ready to face world-class opposition. I don't know if he ever will, but that's Top Rank's problem. At this point, Jared is what you consider legitimate and shaky.
This will be the first fight for Anderson (17-1, 15 KO) since being knocked out in the fifth round by Martin Pacioli on August 3 at BMO Arena in Los Angeles.
It's no surprise that Top Rank selected an unknown fighter, matching Jared against 33-year-old Greek native Kollias (12-3-1, 10 KOs). The way Bakool beat Anderson in a three knockout loss would be a crazy move to pit him against a contender. Anderson was dropped in the first round and twice more in the fifth by Pacoli.
Jared fought well in rounds two through four, and appeared to be in control until Pacoli hurt him again in the fifth.
Should the highest rank dump Jared if he loses?
If Anderson loses this fight, Top Rank may need to consider getting rid of him. They were banking on Jared becoming their next heavyweight star, but worrying signs were there early on when he was knocked down by Jerry Forrest and then injured again by former IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin.
Koleas will be knocked out in the first round by knockout Tamaz Izoria on November 16. Before that, he was defeated by Kim Ljungquist by majority decision in 10 rounds on March 9 last year.
In the main event, 2020 Olympic silver medalist Keshawn Davis (12-0, 8 KOs) will challenge WBO lightweight champion Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs). Top Rank Keyshawn, 25, is pushing fast in his career, matching him against Berinchyk in his fourth year as a pro.
It may have been a mistake on Top Rank's part to move Davis so quickly as he hasn't fought anyone like 2012 Olympian Perinczyk and was stuttering in his fight against Nahir Albright.
Keshawn showed no interest in facing Cuban Andy Cruz, who beat him four times in the amateurs and owned him. He is probably still haunted by those defeats and wants to stay away from his conquerors.
Davis will be fine as long as Top Rank protects him from quality opposition, but if they face him against someone with talent, he'll likely fall apart again.
