Date, time, view, background

Rising heavyweight contender Jared Anderson is scheduled to face veteran Ryad Merhy on ESPN on Saturday in Corpus Christi, Texas.

JARED ANDERSON (16-0, 15 KOs)
WITH. RYAD MERHY (32-2, 26 KOs)

• Day: Saturday, April 13
• Time: 10pm ET / 7pm PT (main event will be shown later)
• Where: Bank of America Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
• Television/Streaming: ESPN, ESPN+
• Assignment: Heavy (unlimited)
• Under threat: No major titles
• Pound-for-pound: Do not have
• The odds: Anderson 5-1 favorite (average of multiple matches)
• Meaning (maximum five stars): ***
• Also on the card: Efe Ajagba vs. Guido Vianello, a strong contender; Robson Conceicao vs. Jose Guardado, lightweight; Ruben Villa vs Cristian Cruz Chacon, featherweight
• Background: Anderson, considered by many to be a future champion, is closing in on his first heavyweight title despite being just 24 years old. The Ohio boxer is ranked by all four major sanctioning bodies – as high as No. 4 by the WBO – after a strong 2023. He stopped George Arias in three rounds in April, nearly defeated former champion Charles Martin in July and knocked out Andrii Rudenko in Round 5 in August to solidify his position as top contender. Anderson has been arrested twice since his fight with Rudenko. He was arrested for improper handling of a gun and drunk driving in November. The next month, he pleaded no contest to the gun charge and the DUI was dismissed. He was fined and received a suspended sentence. Then, in late February in Michigan, he was charged with a felony after chasing police at high speed and crashing into a median. He is due back in court on April 15. Merhy is a 5-foot-11 former heavyweight who was born in the Ivory Coast but lives in Belgium. The 31-year-old lost a unanimous decision to Kevin Lerena last May in Lerena’s native South Africa. However, he returned to score his biggest win in December, a decision over 6-foot-7 2016 Olympic champion Tony Yoka. Anderson is 6-foot-4.