Jared Anderson weighed 252.4 pounds at Friday’s weigh-in for his fight against Martin Bakole this Saturday, August 3rd, at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Bakole weighed 284.4 lb, which isn’t the ideal weight for him.
Many believe this is a risky fight for the 24-year-old Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs) to take on a seasoned professional with the power, toughness, and size of Bakole (20-1, 15 KOs).
His Excellency Turki Alalshkih is fond of 6’4′ Anderson, which may be why he agreed to take the match against Bakole. It’s not the fight his promoters at Top Rank would match him against.
Top Rank has protected the Toledo, Ohio native Anderson, matching him against beatable opponents since he turned pro in 2019. Anderson’s recent opponents show how he’s been carefully matched:
– Ryad Merhy
– Andriy Rudenko
– Charles Martin
– George Arias
– Jerry Forrest
“Yeah, because my last opponent didn’t show up to fight. This is definitely someone that will come to fight,” said Jared Anderson to DAZN Boxing when asked if Martin Bakole was the type of opponent he’d been looking to face.
Anderson fails to take responsibility for failing to pressure Merhy in their clash last April. He didn’t even attempt to pressure Merhy and seemed more content fighting on the outside, jabbing. The fans booed Anderson, and the ESPN commentators criticized him for failing to fight aggressively.
“I was surprised because I was thinking Joe Joyce or Dubois,” said Bakole when asked if he was surprised Anderson agreed to fight him.
Anderson’s willingness to fight a dangerous guy like Bakole suggests he was offered good money to make the risk worthwhile.
“Massive respect for taking the fight because I think it was a terrible bit of matchmaking because no one even knows who Bakole is. So, Jared isn’t going to get credit if he wins outside of the industry. I hope the public will give Jared the credit if he wins this fight,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to Pro Boxing Fans about Jared Anderson agreeing to fight Bakole.
Hearn sees this fight as a mistake on Anderson’s part because he feels he can lose. Although he sees it as a 50-50 one, he’s slightly leaning in Bakole’s direction and feels it could end badly for Jared.
If Anderson can’t beat a fighter at Bakole’s level, he won’t go far in the division because there are better guys than him. Anderson’s recent performances against Merhy and Charles Martin raised a red flag about his courage and punch resistance.
He avoids getting hit, avoids exchanges, and does not make an effort to please fans. Some fans view Anderson as a heavyweight version of Shakur Stevenson, and that style is poison for creating a star.
