Rising heavyweight rival Jared Anderson will be the standout fighter on the cards when he takes on Charles Martin on Saturday in Toledo, Ohio, Anderson’s hometown.
JARED ANDERSON (14-0, 14 KOs)
WITH. CHARLES MARTIN (March 29, KO 26)
- Day: Saturday, July 1
- Time: 10pm ET / 7pm PT (main event after that)
- Where: Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio
- television/stream: GAME, GAME +
- Assignment: Heavyweight (unlimited)
- threatened: No main title
- the odds: Anderson 7½-1 favorite (multi-store average)
- Also on the card: Arslanbek Makhmudov vs. Raphael Akpejiori, strong opponent
- Guess: Anderson KO 7
- Background: Anderson will take center stage at the age of 23. The Toledo heavyweight, who will pit Martin in front of his hometown fans, has been building towards the main event by taking out all 14 of his professional opponents. He’s an accomplished athlete with elite punch power and his skills are improving with every match, making him a potential star. He just needs to prove that he can beat the top level big guys. Martin doesn’t fall into that category but he’s a former employer with solid ability, making him arguably Anderson’s toughest test to date. The 37-year-old tennis player from St. Louis came back from the sixth round knockout loss to Luis Ortiz in January of last year by stopping Devin Vargas for the next forty-eight months. He briefly reigned as the IBF belt holder in 2016, losing his title with a second-round knockout to Anthony Joshua. Anderson was scheduled to take on Khazakhstan’s Zhan Kossobutskiy but Kossobutskiy was withdrawn about a week and a half ago because he failed to obtain a visa. Martin agreed to step in at that point.
