The heavyweight division in boxing is going through a big change. Tyson Fury has said he's retiring, and Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk are getting close to hanging up their gloves too. Now, the division is looking for its next big stars.
Jared Anderson from Toledo, Ohio, wants to be one of those stars. He's planning a comeback this weekend after losing his first fight last August. Anderson will fight on the undercard of Keyshawn Davis vs Denys Berinchyk against Marios Kollias, a Greek boxer with a 12-3-1 record and 10 knockouts.
Before his loss, Anderson was on fire. He won his first 14 fights, all by knockout. He even beat Charles Martin, showing he could take a punch. But then came the fight with Martin Bakole last August.
Bakole knocked Anderson down three times and stopped him in the fifth round. It was a big setback for Anderson, who many thought was the most exciting new heavyweight.
Now, Anderson is ready to bounce back. In an interview with Ring Magazine, he talked about his plans for his return fight:
"I think I'm gonna go for making a statement, simply because I've been out for a little while and I just wanna give the people a taste of what they've been missing. I had a lot of people reach out to tell me they're waiting on me to get back to the ring, so I think making a statement would be the best choice."
Anderson also shared what he learned from his loss:
"I learned I'm never gonna be the toughest, never gonna be the strongest, and I gotta go in there with a good gameplan and stick to it. I got hit with a good shot early on. I strayed away from any gameplan and I just had to be the toughest guy, which obviously didn't work out for me. From here on out, sticking to the plan, doing whatever I did in camp and just being the better fighter. Sticking to my skills instead of trying to use brute strength."
Anderson's return comes at an interesting time for heavyweights. Daniel Dubois is the current IBF World Champion, and fighters like Martin Bakole, Joseph Parker, and Agit Kabayel are all moving up the ranks. But they're all older than Dubois, leaving room for young fighters like Anderson to make their mark.
Anderson, known for his power and speed as a switch-hitter, has said he wants a rematch with Bakole. But first, he'll need to show he's back on track this weekend. Boxing fans will be watching to see if Anderson can live up to his promise of a "statement return" and put himself back in the conversation as one of boxing's next big heavyweight stars.
