Heavyweight Jared Anderson will take on Marios Kollias at the Keyshawn Davis vs. Denys Berinchyk undercard fight.
Lance Pugmore @pugboxing 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 by lower-level opposition more than once in his career.
A must-win for Anderson
This isn’t a huge opponent for Jared Anderson, but he looked so bad in the last fight that he doesn’t look ready for world class opposition. I don’t know if he ever will be, but that’s Top Rank’s problem. At this point, Jared is what you consider a project and a shaky one at that.
This will be the first fight for Anderson (17-1, 15 KOs) since he was knocked out by Martin Bakole in the fifth round on August 3rd at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Unsurprisingly, Top Rank chose an unknown fighter to match Jared against 33-year-old native Greek Kollias (12-3-1, 10 KOs). The way Anderson was knocked out by Bakole in a three-round loss, putting him against a contender would be an insane move. Anderson was dropped by Bakole in the first round and twice more in the fifth.
Jared fought well in rounds two through four, and he looked to be in control until Bakole hurt him again in the fifth.
Should the top spot drop Jared if he loses?
If Anderson loses this fight, Top Rank may have to consider cutting him loose. They hoped that Jared would become their next heavyweight star, but the worrying signs were there early on when he was pummeled by journeyman Jerry Forrest and then hurt again by former IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin.
Kollias is coming off a first-round knockout win over journeyman Tamaz Izoria on November 16. Before that, he was beaten by Kem Ljungquist on March 9 last year with a 10-round majority decision.
In the main event, 2020 Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis (12-0, 8 KOs) will challenge WBO lightweight champion Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs). Top-ranked Keyshawn, 25, is quickly pushing his career, matching him against Berinchyk in his fourth year as a pro.
It could be a mistake on Top Rank’s part to move Davis so quickly, as he hasn’t fought anyone as good as 2012 Olympian Berinchyk and was mixed up in his fight against Nahir Albright.
Keyshawn showed no interest in fighting the Cuban against 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 far away from his conqueror.
Davis will be fine as long as the Top ranking protects him against good opposition, but if they match him up against someone with talent, he will likely fall apart again.
