Jared Anderson was taken the distance for the second time in his career on a frustrating night for the heavyweight star.
“The Real Big Baby” did not have a particularly eager opponent in Ryad Merhy, but the Toledo, Ohio, native got the job done.
Anderson faced little resistance and defeated Merhy via a ten-round unanimous decision in the main event Saturday evening at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. There was little drama when the scorecards were read, as Anderson prevailed by margins of 100-90 2x and 99-91.
Jared Anderson beats Ryad Merhy
Merhy showed little interest in engaging, throwing only 144 punches throughout the fight. It’s the third-lowest total, according to CompuBox.
CompuBox said: “Jared Anderson tried for ten rounds to crack the shell of Ryad Merhy. Anderson was 128 of 662, 19% in total punches compared to 34 of 144, 24% for Merhy.
“The 144 punches thrown for Mehry is the 3rd fewest in ten-round fights in CompuBox history. It seems Merhy achieved his goal of not getting knocked out. Scores were 100-90 twice, and somehow, a judge gave a round to Merhy for a 99-91 score.
Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs) kept an active pace for a big man, landing 128 of 662 punches, including 49 power blows.
Anderson said after his 17th career triumph, “Another day, another night in the office. I wanted to give the fans a better show, but what can you do when they show up to fight like him? It’s just another day in the office. We’re going to continue working.
“I stayed sharp for ten rounds. That’s the biggest takeaway. I have to make some changes. But I made some mistakes and got hit with a few punches. I shouldn’t have gotten hit at all because he didn’t even come here to fight.
“I want all of the names. If I’m ranked with you and your name is near mine, we can get it crackin’. We’re coming to knock everybody off.”
Before the decision, Anderson had knocked fifteen of his sixteen opponents out.
Ajagba vs Vianello
Nigerian heavyweight contender Efe Ajagba earned a 10-round split decision over Italy’s Guido Vianello in a phone booth battle of 2016 Olympians.
In the second stanza, Vianello rocked Ajagba with a right hand and tried to end the fight swiftly, but “The Silent Roller” kept his composure and connected cleanly in the fourth and fifth rounds. The 29-year-old found a consistent home for uppercuts with both hands, though he controlled most of the action behind jabs and straight right hands.
Ajagba switched to southpaw in the later rounds. Vianello was perplexed by the change but figured him out by the final round. However, Ajagba had done enough on two of the judges’ scorecards by then to clinch the victory.
One judge had it 96-94 for Vianello, which was overruled by two scores of 96-94 for Ajagba.
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