Fight Week: Jared Anderson will take center stage against Charles Martin
FIGHT WEEK
Rising heavyweight contender Jared Anderson will be the featured fighter on the card when he faces Charles Martin on Saturday in Toledo, Ohio, Anderson’s hometown.
JARED ANDERSON (14-0, 14 KOs)
VS. CHARLES MARTIN (29-3-1, 26 KOs)
Date: Saturday, July 1
Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio
TV/Stream: ESPN, ESPN+
Division: Heavyweight (no limit)
At stake: No major titles
Odds: Anderson 7½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
Also on the card: Arslanbek Makhmudov vs. Raphael Akpejiori, heavyweights
Prediction: Anderson KO 7
Background: Anderson will be taking center stage at only 23. The heavyweight contender from Toledo, who will be fighting Martin in front of his hometown fans, has been building toward main event exposure by knocking out all 14 of his professional opponents. He’s a terrific athlete with elite punching power and his skills are improving with every fight, making him a potential star. He just has to prove that he can beat top-level big men. Martin doesn’t fall into that category but he’s a former titleholder with solid ability, making him arguably Anderson’s toughest test to date. The 37-year-old from St. Louis bounced back from a sixth-round knockout loss to Luis Ortiz in January of last year by stopping Devin Vargas in four eight months later. He briefly reigned as IBF beltholder in 2016, losing his title by a second-round knockout against Anthony Joshua. Anderson had been scheduled to face Zhan Kossobutskiy of Khazakhstan but Kossobutskiy was pulled from the card about a week and a half ago because he couldn’t procure a visa. Martin agreed to step in at that time.
FRANCHON CREWS-DEZURN (8-1, 2 KOs)
VS. SAVANNAH MARSHALL (12-1, 10 KOS)
Date: Saturday, July 1
Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: AO Arena, Manchester, England
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Division: Super middleweight (168 pounds)
At stake: Crews-Dezurn’s undisputed championship
Odds: Marshall 3½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
Also on the card: Natasha Jonas vs. Kandi Wyatt, welterweights (for vacant IBF title); Zak Chelli vs. Mark Jeffers, super middleweights
Prediction: Marshall UD
Background: Crews-Dezurn has been the dominant 168-pounder of the past half decade but faces a daunting challenge on Saturday. The 36-year-old from Baltimore started her career with a loss against future superstar Claressa Shields but has been undefeated since then, including a run as champion since winning her first belt in 2018. She is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Elin Cederroos in April of last year that unified all four major super middleweight titles. Her next fight is her toughest, at least on paper. Marshall, a one-time amateur star, is one of the most skillful female boxers in the world. And she has one of the highest knockout percentages in the business, which is an indication of her punching power. She last fought in October, when Shields outpointed her in a 160-pound title-unification bout. Marshall didn’t do enough to earn the decision but gave a solid performance against the No. 1 female fighter. She’ll be moving up in weight to face Crews-Dezurn, which shouldn’t be a problem for her. She fought at super middleweight early in her career.
ALSO FIGHTING THIS WEEK
WEDNESDAY
Panya Pradabsri vs. Norihito Tanaka, strawweights (for Pradabsri’s WBC title), Rayong, Thailand (no TV in U.S.)
Pedro Guevara vs. Miguel Herrera, junior bantamweights, Culican, Mexico (ProBox TV)
THURSDAY
Kurt Scoby vs. Hank Lundy, junior welterweights, New York (BoxingInsiders social media)
SATURDAY
Dalton Smith vs. Sam Maxwell, junior welterweights, Sheffield, England (DAZN)
Esquiva Falcao vs. Vincenzo Gualtieri, middleweights (for vacant IBF title), Wuppertal, Germany (no TV in U.S.)
SUNDAY
Sivenathi Nontshinga vs. Regie Suganob, junior flyweights (for Nontshinga’s IBF title), East London, South Africa (no TV in U.S.)
