A top heavyweight prospect and a fellow Olympic silver medalist will join Shakur Stevenson in Newark. Top Rank officially announced today that Jared Anderson vs George Arias and Keyshawn Davis vs Anthony Yigit will precede Stevenson’s April 8th WBC eliminator against Shuichiro Yoshino.
Injury held Anderson (13-0, 13 KO) to just two fights in 2022, though he certainly impressed in his two-round thrashing of Jerry Forrest last December. The Dominican Republic’s Arias (18-0, 7 KO) is coming off of split decisions over Cassius Cheney and Alante Green, so while he doesn’t figure to be much of a roadblock for blue-chipper Anderson, we know the guy can fight. Hopefully he can give “Big Baby” some rounds.
Anderson said, “This is the kind of fight I’ve been waiting for, a big fight between two undefeated heavyweights. I’m excited to once again be fighting on the same card as Shakur Stevenson. Don’t miss this fight. April 8 is going to a special night in Newark.”
Arias said, “I’m excited for the opportunity to go to war with Jared Anderson, one of the most highly regarded heavyweights right now. I thank my team for helping me get to this position. I can’t wait to show my skills on such a big platform. On April 8, I will pull off the upset.”
Davis (7-0, 5 KO) was originally set to face Emmanuel Tagoe, whom you may recall from his dreadful performance against Ryan Garcia. With the Ghanaian out, in steps former European super lightweight champ Yigit (26-2-1, 10 KO). The last time he fought a lightweight prospect on short notice, he missed weight by five pounds and got torched by Rolly Romero, but he’s at least made 135 for his two recent get-well wins in Colombia.
If Yigit’s on, he’s a good opponent for Davis at this stage in the latter’s ultra-promising career.
Davis said, “The Newark fans showed me so much love last time, and I can’t wait to give them another special performance. I’m going to make Yigit regret taking this fight. He’s been in the ring with some good fighters, but I’m on another level.”
Yigit said, “I’m excited to get back into the mix. Huge respect to Keyshawn for taking this fight, but he’s young. Too young. He’s fast, I’m fast. He’s strong, I’m strong. He’s an Olympian, I’m an Olympian. My edge is my experience. I’m going to use it.”