Saudi promoter Turki Alalshikh wants unbeaten heavyweight contender Jared Anderson to fight former WBC champion Deontay Wilder on his August 3rd card in Los Angeles.
The Timing Problem
Here’s the catch: the 38-year-old Wilder will have to quickly recover from his June 1st fight against Zhilei Zhang to fight Anderson on the August 3rd card.
Wilder would have only eight weeks to recover from what could be a grueling fight against the powerful southpaw Zhang (26-2, 21 KOs) on June 1st and it doesn’t seem too promising that he’ll be able to return to the ring that soon to fight Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs) on August 3rd.
Facing the Facts
- Deontay fighting a dangerous puncher, Zhang, who likely will knock him out early on June 1st.
- Very unlikely Wilder will be ready to fight 8 weeks after the Zhang match.
- Wilder hasn’t been active since his loss to Fury in 2021.
Zhang will likely make quick work of Wilder with a lightning-fast knockout within four rounds. There’s no way that the soon-to-be 39-year-old Wilder is going to be able to drag himself back into another training camp after being blown out by Zhang.
Deontay will need time to let his head recover from that knockout, and it wouldn’t be fair to throw him in with Jared Anderson two months later to fight on the August 3rd card.
Deontay hasn’t even been the most active fighter since his loss to Tyson Fury in 2021, fighting just twice against Robert Helenius and Joseph Parker. The Bronze Bomber Wilder lost to Parker last December and looked afraid to engage the entire 12-round fight.
It’s a good idea for Saudi promoter Alalshikh to plan on Wilder not being ready to fight on his August 3rd card. There are other heavyweights that would be excellent choices for Anderson to fight, as long as he and his promoters at Top Rank are willing to fight one of them.
Jared Anderson’s fighting style isn’t the most entertaining, so it’s important that he fights someone who will try to attack him. Anderson fights like a bigger version of Shakur Stevenson, using the pull-back style.
It can be very, very boring to watch Jared fight. For that reason, it’s crucial that Alalshikh selects a fighter who will come forward with pressure and power to force Anderson to engage. If not, he’ll use his step-back style of fighting to win a painfully dull fight, as we saw in his recent win over former cruiserweight Ryad Merhy.
That was the one where fans booed Jared from the fourth round for fighting so timidly against the weak opponent that Top Rank had matched him against.
Anderson’s Next Dance Partner: Who Should It Be?
– Bakhodir Jalolov: The #1 option. The 2020 Olympia super heavyweight gold medalist would be an excellent option for Jared Anderson, and better choice than Deontay.
– Frank Sanchez: A talented Cuban fighter with the skills to defeat Anderson with ease.
– Martin Bakole: The British heavyweight has excellent power and the kind of style that will give Anderson issues.
– Lenier Pero: 2016 Olympian from Cuba would be a very tough fight for Jared.
– Joe Joyce: The heavy-handed Joyce has the power and aggression to make it entertaining.
– Jai Opetaia: The ambitious former IBF cruiserweight champion Opetaia has the power and the speed to defeat Anderson. Opetaia is a better fighter than Anderson, and is far more exciting.
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