Anderson Makes Visit No. 2 to The Bubble Brief; KO1 Win Versus Perez

July 17, 2020July 17, 2020 RL Woodson bob arum, heavyweight boxing, Hector Perez, Jared Anderson, MGM Grand, The Real Big Baby, Top Rank

Undefeated Heavyweight Jared Anderson returned to Top Rank’s The Bubble for his second appearance and quickly dispatched Hector Perez near the midpoint of Round One

LAS VEGAS (JULY 16, 2020) — Undefeated Toledo, Ohio Heavyweight Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson saw his streak of three straight first round stoppages end June 9 versus Johnnie Langston. The fight, while mostly one-way, went into the third where the 30-year old Langston succumbed to the 20-year old’s pressure. The TKO marked Anderson’s fourth win by stoppage, and the extra work took him into some uncharted waters in his first fight inside Top Rank’s Bubble.

Anderson was slated to return to The Bubble at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand back on July 9 for a second fight to be aired on ESPN. His opponent, Hector Perez, ran into some problems after testing revealed some elevated levels that needed to be resolved. Perez dropped a round on two judge’s scorecards, picking up a win over Juan Torres on ESPN a week after Anderson’s appearance.

Perez eventually moved past the testing situation and the fight moved forward with only a week delay. That bit of background was a bigger story than the outcome of the fight.

Anderson opened the round operating from the southpaw stance – for about 90 seconds. The 20-year old quicly abandoned the experimental period, returned to an orthodox stance and patiently went to work behind his jab. A minute later Anderson’s up-and-down work with his lead hand had Perez (7-3, 3 KOs) totally out of sorts, and it set up a right hand over the top to close the show. The shot landed on the side of the head possibly behind Perez’ ear.

Giving up five inches in height, a 20-pound differential in weight and nine years of youth the Puerto Rico-born Perez failed to show anything to suggest to referee Russell Mora he was okay to continue. The loss was the 29-year old’s third defeat, and the first time he failed to go the distance.

The fight officially ended at 1:45 and Anderson picked up his fifth win while virtually taking zero damage. Conceivably, with such a contact-free outing, the former Team USA Boxing product could lobby for third fight during Top Rank’s summer series. After the fight the youngster stated that he was open to facing Olympians, title challengers, and any other tests. He just might be good enough to move beyond baby steps.

All photos by Mikey Williams/Top Rank