Jared ‘Big Baby’ Anderson (15-0, 14 KOs) returns on Saturday less than two months removed from his last fight, a unanimous decision over former IBF champ Charles Martin. His opponent this weekend will be 39-year-old Andriy Rudenko (35-6, 21 KOs) from Ukraine. The fight will air live on ESPN, and all of their platforms as Top Rank continues to market Anderson as the next American heavyweight champion.
WILL WE SEE THE REAL ‘BIG BABY’ ANDERSON ON SATURDAY NIGHT?
When @RealRoyJonesJr linked up with @TeamBigBabyy 🤝#AndersonRudenko | SAT | @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/ESxUj2Tsvz
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) August 23, 2023
Anderson told everyone that he would soon be ready for a title shot and that his push would come faster than everyone had anticipated. Right before the Martin fight, everyone, including Top Rank, was on board with that until his homecoming on July 1st, which was more of a nightmare than a celebration. Martin exposed some flaws in Anderson’s game, which almost cost the 23-year-old heavyweight the fight. Anderson won but left many thinking that he has much more work to do before commenting on a title shot. His promoter, Bob Arum, further solidified that point by saying Anderson would be ready for a top-five contender in about two years. Saturday night will be more about Anderson gaining his promoter’s confidence and potentially condensing that timeline. Live on ESPN, we should see the dominant young heavyweight that Top Rank believes will be the next American heavyweight champion.
CAN ANDRIY RUDENKO USE CHARLES MARTIN’S GAME PLAN TO WIN ON SATURDAY NIGHT?
Rudenko will try his best to keep up with Anderson on Saturday night, but it will be a hard ask. Rudenko scored a second-round stoppage in January over Bojan Cestic, but Cestic isn’t Anderson. Rudenko’s claim to fame is that he went ten rounds with interim WBO champion Zhiei Zhang in 2019, but that was four years ago. It’s hard to see a scenario where Rudenko pulls the upset, but it is heavyweight boxing, and anything can happen.
JARED ANDERSON VS. ANDRIY RUDENKO PREDICTION
Although Rudenko was once a durable fighter, his age has caught up to him, and he is right for the picking. Anderson will wear him down and stop Rudenko around the seventh round.
4️⃣ DAYS ⌛️ #FightWeek pic.twitter.com/qwf0NK9BhQ
— Jared BigBaby🍼 Anderson (@TeamBigBabyy) August 22, 2023
JARED ANDERSON VS. ANDRIY RUDENKO BETTING ODDS
Per BetOnline.ag, Jared Anderson is the favorite at -5000, and Andriy Rudenko is the underdog at +1400.
JARED ANDERSON VS. ANDRIY RUDENKO FIGHT DATE, START TIME
- Date: Saturday, August 26
- Time: 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT
- Main event ringwalks (approx): 12:00 a.m. ET / 9:00 p.m. PT
These timings could change due to the length of the undercard fights.
Heavy-hitters take center stage 🌟#AndersonRudenko | AUG 26 | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/fw4OaB4IH0
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) August 22, 2023
WHAT CHANNEL/STREAM IS JARED ANDERSON VS. ANDRIY RUDENKO?
- U.S.: ESPN, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes
- UK: Sky Sports
JARED ANDERSON VS. ANDRIY RUDENKO FIGHT CARD
- Jared Anderson vs. Andriy Rudenko; heavyweight
- Efe Ajagba vs. Zhan Kossobutskiy; heavyweight
- Bakhodir Jalolov vs. Onoriode Ehwarieme; heavyweight
- Charly Suarez vs. Yohan Vasquez; super-featherweight
- Nico Ali Walsh vs. Sona Akale; middleweight
- Bruce Carrington vs. Angel Contreras; featherweight
- Jeremiah Milton vs. Craig Lewis; heavyweight
- Ablaikhan Zhussupov vs. Wiston Campos; welterweight
- Abdullah Mason vs. Cesar Villarraga; lightweight
