The most intriguing, young knockout artist in the heavyweight division will face a proven puncher in his next fight.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that Jared Anderson will encounter Zhan Kossobutskiy in a 10-round main event ESPN will televise July 1 from Huntington Center in Anderson’s hometown of Toledo, Ohio. A press conference to officially announce Anderson-Kossobutskiy has been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in Toledo.
Anderson (14-0, 14 KOs) will fight in his hometown for the first time since he made his pro debut in October 2019.
The 23-year-old Anderson, who is promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc., most recently stopped previously unbeaten Bronx prospect George Arias (18-1, 7 KOs) after the third round of a scheduled 10-rounder April 8 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The 34-year-old Kossobutskiy, a southpaw from Kazakhstan, has knocked out all but one of his professional opponents (19-0, 18 KOs) and is considered a more dangerous foe for Anderson than Arias.
The bout between Anderson and Kossobutskiy, which was first reported by ESPN.com’s Mike Coppinger, will headline a three-bout broadcast by ESPN. Anderson, who previously has fought in co-features and opening bouts televised by ESPN, will headline a show on the network for the first time.
Only one of the 6-foot-4, 247-pound Anderson’s last six bouts, his impressive victory over Arias, lasted beyond the second round.
The 6-foot-3, 239-pound Kossobutskiy has won 12 straight fights by knockout or technical knockout. The most notable names on his professional record are Philadelphia’s Joey Dawejko and France’s Johann Duhaupas.
Kossobutskiy knocked out the typically durable Dawejko (23-10-4, 13 KOs) in the second round of their August 2021 bout in Hamburg, Germany. The decorated amateur stopped Duhaupas (39-7, 26 KOs) after the fifth round of their scheduled 10-rounder last May 21 in Wilhelmsburg, Germany.
In his most recent action, Kossobutskiy knocked out previously untested German prospect Hussein Muhamed (17-1, 14 KOs, 1 NC) in the third round November 5 in Oberhausen, Germany.
Kossobutskiy is ranked eighth by the WBC. Anderson is rated seventh by the WBO and 11th by both the WBA and WBC.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.