The youngest and most exciting American Heavyweight prospect, Jared Anderson, will not fight the undefeated Zhan Kossobutskiy after the Kazakhstani was forced to withdraw from the bout after failing to secure a visa, according to ESPN. The fight scheduled for June 1st will still take place on the same date and venue, but Jared Anderson will now face a different opponent: former American Heavyweight world champion Charles Martin.
Charles Martin (29-3-1, 26 KO’s), 37, enters his match with Jared Anderson (14-0, 14 KO’s) with the credentials of being a world champion, despite his short stint as a champion which barely lasted 3 months. He will be taking the fight on short notice and will likely not be at his best when facing Anderson, but still provides a challenge due to his experience.
Zhan Kossobutskiy’s (19-0, 18 KO’s) withdrawal from the fight will be a disappointment as both fighters, with both considered contenders and sporting undefeated records. The potential clash between the two was even more intriguing due to the significant age difference, with Anderson being 23 years old, while Kossobutskiy is at least 11 years older at 34.
Jared Anderson will face a test in his fight with Charles Martin but has several advantages that should prevent an upset. Martin’s only advantages in this bout are a one-inch height advantage (6 feet 5 inches) and a reach advantage of 1½ inches (80 inches) compared to Anderson.
Martin will also have to contend with the fact that he is at least 16 years older than Anderson, but he can take confidence in his previous performance when he knocked out his opponent cold in September last year. Martin, a skilled boxer, showed improvement despite his recent loss to Luis Ortiz on January 1st last year, and the former world champion would have had a decent chance of upsetting the odds if he hadn’t taken the fight on short notice.
Jared Anderson will undoubtedly be the favorite going into his bout with Martin, but he will still need to perform at his best to ensure that Martin’s power, skills, and experience won’t overcome him during the fight. The Huntington Center, based in Ohio, is set to stage their battle, and the card will also feature another heavyweight contender, Arslanbek Makhmudov (16-0, 15 KO’s).
