Heavyweight Jared Anderson will fight Marios Kollias on the Keyshawn Davis vs. Denys Berinchyk undercard on February 14 at the Hula Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Lance Pugmore @pugboxing broke the news of “Big Baby” Anderson fighting Kollias on the Keyshawn-Berinchyk card. It’s a relatively safe fight for Anderson, 25, but not just because he’s been hurt more than once in his career by lower-level opposition.
A must-win for Anderson
This isn’t a great opponent for Jared Anderson, but he looked so bad in the last fight that he doesn’t seem ready for world class opposition. I don’t know if it ever will be, but that’s the problem with Top Rank. At this point, Jared is what I consider a project and a shaker.
This will be the first fight for Anderson (17-1, 15 KOs) since he was knocked out in the fifth round by Martin Bakole on August 3rd at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
It’s not surprising that Top Rank chose an unknown fighter, pitting Jared against 33-year-old Greek native Kollias (12-3-1, 10 KOs). The way Anderson was knocked out by Bakole in a three-fall loss it would be a crazy move to put him against a contender. Anderson was dropped in the first round and twice more in the fifth by Bakole.
Jared fought well in rounds two through four, and it looked like he was in control until Bakole hurt him again in the fifth.
Top Rank Dump Jared if he loses?
If Anderson loses this fight, Top Rank may need to consider cutting him. They were banking that Jared would become their next star in the heavyweight division, but the worrying signs were there early on when he was defeated by Jerry Forrest and then injured again by former IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin .
Kollias is coming off a first-round knockout win over operator Tamaz Izoria on November 16. Before that, he was defeated by Kem Ljungquist by a 10-time majority decision on March 9 of last year.
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 Rank pushes Keyshawn, 25, up to speed with his career, matching him against Berinchyk in his fourth year as a pro.
It might be a mistake on Top Rank’s part to move Davis so quickly because he hasn’t fought anyone like 2012 Olympian Berinchyk and was stunned in his fight against Nahir Albright.
Keyshawn showed no interest in fighting the Cuban Andy Cruz, who beat him four times in the amateurs and owns him. He is also probably haunted by those defeats and wants to stay away from his conqueror.
Davis will be fine as long as Top Rank protects him from good opposition, but if he faces someone with talent, he will likely fall again.
