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Jared Anderson and Adam Kownacki: Heavyweights on Worrisome Paths
Jared Anderson last fought in August of last year when he scored a fifth-round knockout over Ukrainian journeyman Andrii Rudenko on a card in Tulsa, Oklahoma. That elevated his record to 16-0 (15 KOs) and reinforced the opinion that he was America’s best hope to end the era of foreign dominance in boxing’s glamour division.
Although Anderson hasn’t fought since then, his name has been in the news and the news hasn’t been pretty. On Thursday of last week, Feb. 29, the 24-year-old boxer was arrested in Huron Township in Wayne County, Michigan, his second brush with the law in less than four months.
ESPN boxing writer Mike Coppinger broke the story on the day that it happened. Coppinger subsequently updated the story with information posted by the Huron Township Office of Public Safety on the department’s Facebook page.
Anderson was arrested after a police chase that ended when he crashed his Dodge Challenger into a highway median. The chase began in the early afternoon when a policeman attempted to pull him over for speeding. During the chase that wended north and south across roughly five-and-a-half miles, his vehicle reached a top speed of 130 mph.
Noting that Anderson’s car had a camera mounted on the back windshield, Huron Township Police Chief Everette Robbins expressed the view that Anderson baited the policeman. Because the pursuing officer periodically discontinued the chase in the interest of public safety, Robbins (perhaps alluding to Burt Reynolds and Jackie Gleason in the “Smokey and the Bandit” movies) described it as a cat-and-mouse game.
In Michigan, Anderson’s escapade is a third-degree felony with a potential five-year prison term. He spent two nights behind bars before he was released on bond and has his first court hearing scheduled for March 13 in Romulus, Michigan. Romulus is roughly 50 miles from Anderson’s home in Toledo, Ohio. The following month, on April 13, he is scheduled to resume his boxing career in Corpus Christi, Texas, with Belgium’s Ryad Merhy in the opposite corner.
Previous Incident
Speeding also factored into Anderson’s previous arrest. On Nov. 6 of last year, in the wee hours of a Monday morning, he was pulled over for driving 55 mph in a 40-mph zone in the lakefront Toledo suburb of Oregon, Ohio.
The officer detected the scent of marijuana in the vehicle and the odor of alcohol on Anderson’s breath. An open bottle of tequila was found in the vehicle and there was a handgun in the glove compartment. He was charged with being in possession of a firearm while driving under the influence.
Anderson was arrested and spent 8 hours in jail. The OVI charge (operating a vehicle while impaired) was expunged when he passed a breathalyzer test but the firearms charge stuck even though it was in a locked compartment. In court, he pleaded “no contest” and was slapped with a $200 fine and a six-month suspended sentence.
In addition to his boxing prowess, Anderson has attracted notice for his flamboyant ring walks. In August of 2022, prior to his twelfth pro fight, he adopted a solemn pose, walking slowly to the ring in prison garb with a ball-and-chain. The intent was to call attention to the plight of his older brother Adam “Dub” Anderson who was incarcerated. At the age of 20, Dub Anderson was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role with three co-defendants in a fatal 2013 home invasion.
Kownacki
In this cruel sport, some fights are so exhilarating that they shorten careers, which is to say that they hasten the day when the victorious fighter crosses over to the wrong side of the hill. Although hindsight is always 20/20, the Aug. 4, 2019 fight at Barclays Center in Brooklyn between Adam Kownacki and Chris Arreola is emblematic.
The 12-round battle, which some pundits likened to a heavyweight version of Gatti-Ward, set CompuBox records for punches thrown and punches landed in a heavyweight fight. Although there were no knockdowns, both fighters absorbed a tremendous amount of punishment. Kownacki, who at age 30 was the younger man by eight years, emerged the winner by a unanimous decision.
Kownacki had prefaced that win with victories over Charles Martin (UD 10) and Gerald Washington (TKO 2). His triumph over Arreola boosted his record to 20-0. Next in the line of fire was WBC world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. Although Kownacki would have been a massive underdog, it would have been a massive payday for the amiable, moon-faced Pole who had developed a cult following that extended beyond his Polish homies in Brooklyn.
But Wilder wasn’t available quite yet (he had a commitment to fight Luis “King Kong” Ortiz) and Kownacki’s braintrust thought it prudent to keep him busy. They matched him with a journeyman from Finland, a Wilder-like beanpole named Robert Helenius, in theory a safe and useful opponent.
Kownacki won the first three rounds with his non-stop aggression and then the roof fell in. In round four, fighting off the ropes, Helenius buzzed him with a sneaky counter right that produced a flash knockdown. Although Kownacki was up in a jiffy (the knockdown was erroneously ruled a slip), the punch discombobulated him and the Finn seized the moment, storming after him with a barrage of punches that forced the referee to intervene.
In their rematch in Las Vegas, Kownacki was down on the cards and his eyes were starting to close when the referee stopped the messy fight in the sixth frame. Kownacki was subsequently out-pointed by a relatively unknown fighter from Turkey, Ali Eren Demirezen, and then stopped in eight frames by the very limited Joe Cusumano. In this fight, Kownacki was saved by the bell in the first round but to his credit kept plugging away until his corner threw in the towel.
Ringside scribe Thomas Hauser likened the sad spectacle to a wake with the body inside the ring. “Adam shouldn’t get hit in the head anymore,” wrote Hauser in his post-fight report. “Not in sparring and not in a fight. Shame on anyone who, in any way, facilitates his fighting again.”
Hauser’s admonition wasn’t heeded. This past Saturday in Koszalin, Poland, in his first ring appearance in the country of his birth, Kownacki was blasted out in 45 seconds by 24-year-old Kacper Meyna, a fellow Pole who entered the ring with an 11-1 record. It was his fifth straight loss and fourth inside the distance, reducing his record, once 20-0, to 20-5. It seems obvious that his punch resistance is shot; it happens.
Years from now, historians may look back on his fierce rumble with Chris Arreola and see it as a watershed fight for him. Yes, Adam Kownacki triumphed that night, but there was much more to the story.
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Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City
Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his last three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).
Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.
In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.
The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.
Co-Feature
In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.
Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.
What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.
The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.
Also
In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).
A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, applied the exclamation point, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.
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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim
Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.
Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.
Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.
Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is Brandon Figueroa should he defeat former Inoue foe Stephen Fulton next weekend. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.
Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”
Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.
Semi-wind-up
In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.
Also
In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.
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Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino
Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.
In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.
All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.
Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.
Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.
Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.
In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.
Other Bouts
Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.
Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.
Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.
A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.
Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy
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