Jared Anderson’s one hundred percent knockout rate came to an end, as he beat Charles Martin via a unanimous decision in his hometown of Toledo, Ohio.
Anderson was expected to make a major statement against the former world champion, Martin, who was clearly at the tail-end of his career at the age of 37.
It was the first time that Anderson had gone beyond the sixth round in a performance that showcased his durability.
The 23-year-old was the busier fighter and had some early success in the third round. A thudding right hand put Martin onto the canvas, with many expecting an early night.
.@TeamBigBabyy drops Charles Martin in the closing seconds of Round 3 😳 #AndersonMartin | LIVE on @ESPN pic.twitter.com/8bzv7WoOEs
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) July 2, 2023
However, not only did Martin make it to the end of the round, but he fought fire with fire. In the fifth round, Martin’s left hand shook Anderson’s legs.
The left hand continued to pepper Anderson, as the latter was questioned for the first time in his career.
WE GOT A HEAVYWEIGHT BANGER.
Turn those dials to @ESPN… now. #AndersonMartin 🍿 pic.twitter.com/3K67SxewNJ
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) July 2, 2023
While that may have been the case, Anderson managed to walk down his opponent as he coasted to a unanimous-decision win: 98-91, 99-90 and 99-90.
Victory puts Martin on course for the bigger names in the division, as his record moves to 15-0 with 14 KOs.
Reaction
“I wanted to go the distance. It was my first time and I just wanted to make sure I could go the distance. I had it in me, especially to be able to withstand power the whole 10 rounds.
“He had power until the last round, so I was just happy to get the rounds in. I think I took his best shot very well. I had to readjust and get back into my gameplan,” Anderson
Rest Of The Card
Nicklaus Flaz def. Jahi Tucker via a majority decision: 76-76, 78-74, 77-75
Tyler McCreary def. Deivi Julio via a unanimous decision: 57-56, 59-54, 57-56
Rance Ward def. Husam Al Mashhadi via a majority decision: 57-57, 58-56, 59-55
DeAndre Ware def. Decarlo Perez via a unanimous decision: 58-56, 59-55, 59-55
Dante Benjamin def. Mirady Lubanzadio via a first-round TKO
Tiger Johnson def. Jonathan Montrel via a unanimous decision: 80-72, 80-72, 80-72
Arslanbek Makhmudov def. Raphael Akpejiori via a second-round TKO
Abdullah Mason def. Alex de Oliveira via a second-round TKO
Jared Anderson def. Charles Martin via a unanimous decision: 98-91, 99-90, 99-90