Jared Anderson and Keyshawn Davis Make Grand Statements at MSG
Jared Anderson and Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis provide stunning glimpses of the future of American boxing at Heavyweight and Lightweight
NEW YORK CITY (December 11, 2021) — When a young talent is as good as fast-rising Heavyweight Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson, you have to give the kid some latitude. So long as he continues to be all business, and an array of impressive skills, when the 22-year old is actually working.
There were moments of silence by ESPN’s on-air commentary team as Anderson made his way to the ring with a cane, and an outfit that was a mix of Bishop Don Juan, something inspired by funk band The Ohio Players, and Martin’s washed player Jerome – Detroit’s fictional “playa from the Himalayas.” The Real Big Baby was definitely in the house at the Mecca of Boxing, NYC’s famed Madison Square Garden.
Anderson’s scintillating second round technical knockout of Oleksandr Teslenko (17-2, 13 KOs) exceedingly set the stage for the evening’s Vasiliy Lomachenko versus Richard Commey main event.
Anderson opened the bout operating from southpaw against Oleksandr Teslenko. The Toledo, Ohio native’s pace, and stance, had the Canada-based Ukrainian on his heels from the outset.
The former Team USA standout reverted to his natural orthodox stance in the second frame. Teslenko worked from the back foot, but he slipped in a few solid punches against the oncoming Ohioan. Anderson fought with better control in the second round, but still with a noticeable sense of urgency, and landed a crushing knockout blow at 1:33 in Round 2.
Teslenko was badly hurt, slow to get up and referee Charlie Fitch determined he was unable to continue fighting. America’s most promising Heavyweight remained perfect with 11 wins with all coming inside the distance. With another astounding performance under his belt, Anderson’s game portends he will be a player in the Heavyweight division in the near future.
We saw the beginning of the marriage of Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis and trainer Brian “BoMac” McIntyre – long-time chief second of Pound-for-Pound champion Terence “Bud” Crawford. The early results were remarkable. Virginian Davis, only 22-years old, showcased all of the tools in less than two dominant economical rounds of action versus Jose Zaragoza.
Davis improved to 3-0 after referee Charlie Fitch halted the bout at 2:51 in Round 2. The Olympian closed out Zaragoza (8-4-1, 2 KOs) with a beautifully placed left hook to the liver, and dropped him moments earlier with a vicious right uppercut. The Norfolk, Virginia native impressively checks boxes for confidence, size, accuracy, poise, ring generalship and punch selection jump off the TV screen. The major question is whether he’ll quickly start picking off upper tiered fighters at Lightweight or five pounds north at Junior Welterweight.
All photos by Mikey Williams/Top Rank
