Jared Anderson is not expected to have too much trouble with Ryad Merhy on Saturday in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The 24-year-old rising heavyweight contender acknowledges the challenge that smaller opponents can sometimes pose. Anderson has a height advantage of about five inches over Merhy, a former cruiserweight contender. And Merhy (32-2, 26 KOs) has more experience.
However, Anderson (16-0, 15 KOs) has no doubts about who will get his hand raised on ESPN.
“Merhy has a different level of experience,” Anderson said. “But everything from my amateur pedigree and what I always do with people, whether they have experience or not, will play a different role.”
“Challenges [with smaller fighters] is that sometimes you have to deal with their speed, which we have trained for. But I don’t really see much of a challenge with this. I really don’t see too many challenges.
“I’m used to fighting all kinds of different people. I’m used to working out with all kinds of people. Therefore, if you do not prepare carefully, you will not be able to perform well. So just know that we are definitely prepared.”
Merhy fought only three times as an official heavyweight, with mixed results.
The 31-year-old Belgian suffered a crushing defeat when he lost to former contender Kevin Lerena by unanimous decision last May. However, he came back to claim his biggest win, a losing decision over 2016 Olympic gold medalist Tony Yoka in December.
That result gives him the opportunity to face a top contender on a major stage, although he admits he is very lucky.
“I’m happy to be here,” Merhy said. “What a great opportunity. Who would have thought that from a small country like Belgium I would be able to show my talent in America? I hope to represent my country.”
That doesn’t mean he’s about to lose.
Yes, he’s naturally smaller than Anderson, who outweighed his opponent on Friday by 15.3 pounds (250.9 to 235.6). However, he believes he can make up for it with his experience.
“Jared is a very talented fighter,” Merhy said. “He’s a great prospect. But this Saturday I will show that he still has a long way to go. I have gone through 177 rounds as a professional, while Anderson has only gone through 46 rounds. So we’ll see if that makes a big difference on Saturday.”
Anderson doesn’t believe anything will stop him from scoring another win and getting one step closer to his first title.
“Expect the best version of me,” he said. “Expect to see me shine. Expect to see me dominate and show why I belong here.”
