Jared Anderson and lightweight prospect Keyshawn Davis finally have opponents for their respective April 8 bouts, Top Rank announced Monday. 

Anderson will face George Arias in a clash of unbeaten heavyweights and Davis will square off against former world title challenger Anthony Yigit. Both 10-round bouts will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey and will precede the main event bout between Shakur Stevenson and Shuichiro Yoshino.

All three fights will air live on ESPN (10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT).

The 23-year-old Anderson (13-0, 13 knockouts), who resides in Toledo, Ohio, last fought on December 10, knocking out Jerry Forrest in the second round. The win over Forrest came more than three months after Anderson earned a knockout win at the end of the second round over Miljan Rovcanin.

Anderson’s fight against Arias will not be the first time he will face an unbeaten fighter. He faced Vladimir Tereshkin in October 2021, also winning by knockout in the second round.

“(Facing Arias) is the kind of fight I’ve been waiting for, a big fight between two unbeaten heavyweights,” said Anderson, who made his pro debut in October 2019. “I’m excited to once again be fighting on the same card as Shakur Stevenson. April 8 is going to (be) a special night in Newark.”

Arias (18-0, 7 KOs), a Dominican-born fighter who now resides in the Bronx, New York, has won back-to-back split decisions against unbeaten fighters, the latest taking place on June 22, Alante Green. Arias defeated Cassius Chaney in December 2021. 

Including wins over Green and Chaney, Arias has defeated a total of seven unbeaten fighters, thus far, in his career. The 31-year-old hopes to again pull off another win over an unbeaten fighter at the expense of Anderson.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to go to war with Jared Anderson, one of the most highly regarded heavyweights right now,” said Arias, who is promoted by Lou DiBella and Dmitriy Salita. “I thank my team for helping me get to this position. I can’t wait to show my skills on such a big platform. On April 8, I will pull off the upset.”

Like Anderson, Davis (7-0, 5 KOs) also fought on December 10. The 23-year-old, who resides in Norfolk, Virginia, dominated former world title challenger Juan Carlos Burgos over eight rounds to win a one-sided decision. In his previous fight on September 23, which also took place in Newark, Davis battered Omar Tienda before ending matters in round 5. 

Davis, a 2020 U.S. Olympic Silver medalist, wants to face the best available opposition and expects a tough challenge from Yigit. 

“The Newark fans showed me so much love last time, and I can’t wait to give them another special performance,” said Davis. “I’m going to make Yigit regret taking this fight. He’s been in the ring with some good fighters, but I’m on another level.”

Yigit (26-2-1, 10 KOs), who resides in Stockholm, Sweden, has won his last two fights, both in Colombia, since losing by knockout to Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero in July 2021. The 31-year-old challenged then-IBF world junior welterweight titleholder Ivan Baranchyk, losing by knockout. Yigit is confident his experience and intangibles will give him the edge against Davis.

“I’m excited to get back in the mix,” said Yigit, who last fought on May 22. Huge respect to Keyshawn for taking this fight, but he’s young. Too young. He’s fast. I’m fast. He’s strong. I’m strong. He’s an Olympian. I’m an Olympian. My edge is my experience. I’m going to use it.”

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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