Throughout Jared Anderson’s ho-hum win over Ryad Merhy, the crowd sounded more like they were at a dinner party than a fight.
Anderson (17-0) is considered one of the top American heavyweights but his lack of “wow” factor hurts his marketability.
If you’re going to be a “points” boxer you have to be dynamic and/or have an electric personality. Anderson is technically superior. He’s everything you would want in a boxer in the ring but in an era where boxing is more of an “event” sport than anything else, the boxer needs to bring eyes to the television and we haven’t even gotten into the pay-per-view aspect.
With Deontay Wilder one loss away from being out of the sport, Anderson has a prime opportunity to jump to the top fighter in the US but it can’t be done this way. Wilder is incredibly flawed but he brought excitement to a sport in a country that demands entertainment over everything else.
Anderson’s style doesn’t lend himself to be embraced in that way.
It’s a slippery slope though.
Anderson can’t fight wild but he needs to have an exciting fight. Even though he knew it wasn’t a crowd pleasing fight, Anderson insisted on fighting in a way that means he won’t be hit similar to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The difference is Mayweather Jr. knew who to fight to grab eyes and, more importantly, money to his fights. For Anderson to bring more excitement, his management needs to match him with a fighter that can invite more excitement than Merhy.
Top Rank is partially responsible.
If they want Anderson to get to the top 5 in the heavyweight division, they have to bring the fireworks.
