Jared Anderson is interested in fighting Zhilei Zhang on August 3rd in Los Angeles. The Top Rank promoted unbeaten heavyweight contender Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs) rejected the idea of fighting the recently knocked out Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller.
Anderson, 24, wants a bigger fight than that against Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs), who is coming off a fifth-round knockout win over Deontay Wilder last Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Zhang’s Schedule Conflicts
Chris Mannix reports that Zhang likely won’t be able to fight Anderson on August 3rd because he has “media and sponsorship obligations” in China. He says a fight between the two could happen later this year.
If Zhang were to fight Anderson on August 3rd, it would be a rush job. He wouldn’t have much time to rest from his fight against Wilder last Saturday night before he needed to jump back in the gym to start training for Anderson.
It’s unclear if Top Rank promoter Bob Arum would allow Anderson to fight Zhang because it would be risky for him. We saw Anderson get hurt twice by former IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin last year in July.
In Anderson’s last fight against Ryad Merhy, he was stunned early and then fought cautiously for the remainder of the contest, not wanting to take any chances against a fighter who wasn’t throwing punches.
Fans were booing the lack of action from both guys and despite winning, Anderson came off badly.
What Anderson should do is call out Daniel Dubois, Agit Kabayel, or Joe Joyce and see if he can get one of those guys who would be interested in fighting him.
Zhilei Zhang is headed to China this month for media and sponsorship obligations and likely wouldn’t be available to face Jared Anderson on August 3rd, I’m told. Possible that a fight between the two heavy handed heavyweights could be made later this year.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) June 3, 2024