Jared Anderson to face veteran Ryad Merhy on ESPN

FIGHT WEEK

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

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

Date: Saturday, April 13
Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
TV/Stream: ESPN, ESPN+
Division: Heavyweight (no limit)
At stake: No major titles
Pound-for-pound: None
Odds: Anderson 5-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
Significance (up to five stars): ***
Also on the card: Efe Ajagba vs. Guido Vianello, heavyweights; Robson Conceicao vs. Jose Guardado, junior lightweights; Ruben Villa vs. Cristian Cruz Chacon, featherweights
Background: Anderson, viewed by many as a future champion, is nearing his first heavyweight title shot even though he’s only 24 years old. The powerful boxer-puncher from Ohio 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 shut out former titleholder Charles Martin in July and knocked out Andrii Rudenko in Round 5 in August to bolster his position as a top contender. Anderson was arrested twice since the Rudenko fight. He was booked for improper handling of firearms and driving under the influence in November. The next month he pleaded no-contest to the firearms charge and the DUI was dropped. He was fined and received a suspended sentence. Then, in late February in Michigan, he was charged with a felony after taking police on a high-speed chase and crashing into a median. He is due back in court on April 15. Merhy is a 5-foot-11 former cruiserweight who was born in the Ivory Coast but lives in Belgium. The 31-year-old lost a unanimous decision to Kevin Lerena in May of last year in South Africa, Lerena’s home country. However, he bounced back to record his biggest victory in December, a split decision over 6-foot-7 2016 Olympic champion Tony Yoka. Anderson is 6-foot-4.

ALSO FIGHTING THIS WEEK

WEDNESDAY

Angelo Leo vs. Eduardo Baez, featherweights, Plant City, Florida (ProBox TV)

THURSDAY

Erik Bazinyan vs. Shakeel Phinn, super middleweights, Montreal (ESPN+)

SATURDAY

Jordan Gill vs. Zelfa Barrett, junior lightweights, Manchester, England (DAZN)