Jared Anderson Wins Points in Boring Match That Harvests Ridicule

Jared Anderson won by unanimous decision in a boring match that received boos from the audience. In one of the worst action boxing fights on television in recent times, Jared Anderson won by absolute points over Ryad Merhy on Sunday (14/4/2024) afternoon WIB at the American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas.

This fight, which Jared Anderson won by official scores of 100-90 (twice) and 99-91, headlined a fight card promoted by Top Rank. The promoter and organizers likely regretted this fight, as boos filled the arena for most of the fight.

Ryad Merhy (32-3, 26 KOs), the 31-year-old from Brussels, Belgium, deserves most of the spotlight for his lack of action in this bout. The former cruiserweight fighter, making his first appearance in the US and on a high-profile fight card, repeatedly refused to attack and continued to retreat behind a high guard.

The 24-year-old Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs) is considered the best current hope for becoming a future American heavyweight. He controlled the first round with his jab while Merhy only threw 12 punches in the round.

Merhy came in with a solid counter left in the second round, indicating that his cautious approach may have been intended to bait Anderson into giving him a chance. However, the next round went with a series of monotonous Anderson jabs, which drew cheers from the crowd.

The third round went much the same way, with Anderson opening the attack with a combination at the end of the round and Merhy landing a hard blow to the stomach before the bell rang. Anderson, from Toledo, Ohio, was very active, throwing his jab constantly and occasionally landing powerful blows, although none landed cleanly. Merhy looked like he was trying to reach a meditative state.

One minute into the fourth round, Anderson had thrown 220 punches compared to Merhy’s 33.

“Man, this is terrible,” said ESPN broadcaster Tim Bradley.

Anderson opened up a bit in the sixth and seventh rounds, landing more power punches from deep. However, Merhy managed to avoid the worst of the blow and continued his low dodge.