Jared Anderson kept his undefeated record and proved he can handle an undersized opponent who won’t throw punches, winning a unanimous decision victory over Ryad Merhy in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Anderson (17-0, 15 KO) was dropping jaws throughout the very empty arena, but only because that’s how people’s mouths move when they can’t stop yawning. Merhy (32-3, 26 KO) never found a forward gear, losing his balance and stumbling frequently whenever he’d so much as try to lunge in on a jab. Perhaps being the third guy in a row to beat Tony Yoka doesn’t make someone a world class opponent?
Anderson, uncharacteristically in no hurry, spent the whole night content to poke away from the outside and just collect the rounds. The crowd was already booing in the 2nd round, and Tim Bradley said “This is awful” halfway through the fight.
Color commentator Bradley started reading his text messages on air midway through the 6th round for lack of anything else to discuss. By that point, the people in attendance who hadn’t already been seen leaving on wide angle camera shots had stopped bothering to even boo. Lousy show, nothing proved, and Anderson won after 10 tedious rounds on official scores of 100-90, 100-90, and 99-91.
Zero highlights available for this fight. So, instead, please enjoy perhaps the worst branded sponsorship in recent boxing history, as ESPN and Top Rank’s AutoZone Corner Cam shows you Jared Anderson, a man with multiple car-related arrests including at least one felony charge.
Efe Ajagba SD-10 Guido Vianello
Fun little fight in the chief support, where Guido Vianello started out hot and had Efe Ajagba absolutely rocked at the end of Round 2, leaving Ajagba (20-1, 14 KO) so disoriented that he walked back to the wrong corner.
Vianello (12-2-1, 10 KO) started gassing out in the 4th, while Ajagba stayed consistent throughout, doing a lot of good work in the middle rounds off the uppercut. Vianello rallied in the final two rounds, doing enough to claim one judge’s scorecard, but it was Ajagba who claimed the split decision victory on official scores of 96-94 Vianello, 96-94 Ajagba, 96-94 Ajagba.
Robson Conceicao TKO-7 Jose Guardado
Conceicao (18-2-1, 9 KO) fought with looser hands and less defensive concern than we usually see, whipping lots of hooks and landing an off-target uppercut right into Guardado’s throat. But, Guardado (15-2-1, 5 KO) didn’t seem to feel the power, at least until late in the 7th when Conceicao nailed him in the ribs with a fantastic hook. Guardado found his feet, but only long enough to take another round of gut punishment before going down again and seeing the fight stopped.