On a quiet weekend for boxing, Jared Anderson 16-0 (15) has the opportunity to steal the spotlight and show why many people consider him the best prospect in heavyweight boxing when he takes on Ryan Mehry 32-2 (26) over 10 rounds at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas on Saturday night.
The 24-year-old Ohio native, who boxes out of Houston, Texas, has long been considered America’s next great hope to win a slice of the heavyweight crown. The weight of expectation weighs heavily on his shoulders, but Anderson says he’s ready to deliver the goods.
“Expect the best version of me. Expect to see me shine. Expect to see me dominate and show why I belong here,” said Anderson, who weighed in at almost 251-pounds for his ESPN televised main event.
“Merhy has a different level of experience. But everything from my amateur pedigree and what I’ve always done to everyone, whether they have experience or not, will play a different role.”
The 31-year-old Mehry was born in Côte D’Ivoire but now makes his home in Brussels, Belgium. A former cruiserweight world title challenger, he moved up to the open weight class three fights ago and has gone 2-1, losing to Kevin Lerena in South Africa last May.
He bounced back from this setback with a split decision win over Tony Yoka in France in December.
Mehry scaled a career-high 235.6-pounds for this weekend’s fight, but Anderson still considers him the naturally smaller man with all the strengths and weaknesses that come with that.
“The challenge [with smaller fighters] is that you have to sometimes deal with their speed, which we trained for,” said Anderson.
“But I don’t really see to many challenges with this. I don’t really see too many challenges. I’m used to fighting all types of different people. I’m used to training with all types of people. So, if you don’t prepare properly, then you won’t perform properly. So just know that we came prepared for sure.”
The Anderson bout will be Merhy’s first professional contest in the United States.
“I’m very happy to be here. What a great opportunity. Who would have ever thought that from a small country like Belgium I would be able to show my talent in America? I hope to represent my country,” Merhy said.
“I’m not looking for anything. They’re looking for me. I’m a cruiserweight who has moved up to the heavyweight division because I was called out. They keep calling me and now I’m here.
“Jared is a very talented fighter. He is a great prospect. But this Saturday I’m going to show that he still has a long way to go. I have gone 177 rounds as a pro, while Anderson has only gone 46. So we’ll see if that plays a big difference on Saturday.”
