Jared Anderson to Face Zhan Kossobutskiy on July 1st In His Hometown Toledo, OH
American heavyweight boxer and Toledo, Ohio native Jared Anderson is returning to the ring this summer. The WBO and WBC International Heavyweight champion is set to defend his titles on July 1 at the Huntington Center in his hometown of Toledo, Ohio. In that bout, he will take on 34-year-old Russian-born Zhan Kossobutskiy. Considering Jared Anderson’s boxing career, and him being from Ohio, odds on the upcoming fight are likely to favor him. If you’re a bettor, be sure to check out the latest Ohio sports betting promos before you place your wager.
It will be a battle between two undefeated heavyweights. Entering their fight in July, the 23-year-old Anderson will enter with a 13-0 record while Kossobutskiy will enter with a 19-0 record including 18 wins by knockout. Kossobutskiy defeated Onoriode Ehwarieme in Germany in February of 2021 to win the WBA International heavyweight title and also won the WBC International heavyweight title in February 2022.
How they got here:
Anderson began his professional career in 2019 when he defeated Daniel Infante in a knockout. He would run through his opponents en route to a 9-0 record before winning the NABF junior heavyweight title in 2021 against Vladimir Tereshkin. He would go on to win the WBO International Heavyweight title on December 10 2022 against Jerry Forest and successfully retained it against George Arias in April while also winning the WBC International Heavyweight title. All 14 of Anderson’s wins have come by way of knockout. Nicknamed “Big Baby”, Anderson is widely considered a rising star in the heavyweight division and one of the best American boxer’s in the world today.
BoxRec.com has Anderson currently rated as the fifth-ranked boxer in the world behind Andy Ruiz, Deontay Wilder, Jarrell Miller, and Stephan Shaw as well as the 32nd-ranked boxer in the world regardless of weight division.
Kossobutskiy, on the other hand, started his professional career late at age 29, only beginning boxing in 2017. As mentioned above, he is 18-0 with 18 knockouts. He won his championship in 2019 when he defeated Argon Smakici in Hamburg, Germany to win the IBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title. He has defended that title ever since while adding the WBA and WBC heavyweight championships in the process. This will be Kossobutskiy’s first fight since defeating Hussein Muhamed on November 5 of last year in Oberhausen, Germany.
Anderson is considered the seventh-ranked heavyweight in the world by the WBO while Kssobutskiy is unranked by the WBO but is ranked No. 8 by the WBC which ranks Anderson No. 11 in the world.
Who has the advantages?
From a size perspective, Anderson has an inch on Kossobutskiy as he stands 6-foot-4 tall to Kossobutskiy’s 6-foot-3 frame. Their reaches are similar with Anderson having a slight advantage -0 Anderson owning a 78.3″ reach to Kossobutskiy’s 78″ reach.
If going the distance becomes a question in this fight, it’s worth noting that Anderson has had only one fight go beyond three rounds in his career, going six rounds against Kingsley Ibeh in February of 2021. Kossobutskiy, however, has gone five rounds or more three times including one fight going the distance in 2020 against Kamil Sokolowski in which he eventually won in knockout fashion. Distance will surely become more of a question for Anderson if the fight prolongs beyond the third or fourth round due to his track record.
The match is currently scheduled for 11:00 p.m. EST on July 1 and will be streamed on ESPN+. Viewers in the United Kingdom could also watch on Sky Sports Action. The fight is set to go 10 rounds.
Overall, this matchup is surely going to be one of the more exciting bouts of the year in boxing as two of the world’s best heavyweights go at it with plenty of gold on the line. If Anderson wins, it will be another notch in his quickly building legacy as he becomes one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. A win could also put him on a path to potentially facing the likes of Deontay Wilder down the road.
Kossobutskiy will look to continue to put together an impressive resume of his own despite getting his professional career off to a start at a much older age than Anderson. Despite boxing being a younger man’s sport generally, this 35-year-old will look to show that he can keep up with the younger generation.