(Press Release) – Top Rank on ESPN presented by AutoZone: Anderson vs. Martin will be live this Saturday, July 1 at 10 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT exclusively on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+. The event takes place at Huntington Center, Toledo, OH.
Toledo’s knockout king Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson (14-0, 14 KOs) returns home to headline a 10-round main event against former world champion “Prince” Charles Martin (29-3-1, 26 KOs).
Fighting in the main event for the first time as a pro, 23-year-old Anderson has yet to go beyond the sixth round, having stopped five of his opponents in the first round and another five in the second round. In 2020, he garnered global attention as Tyson Fury’s primary sparring partner, but he is now carving his own path as he prepares to face the top names of the division. Martin, a 37-year-old St. Louis native, captured the IBF heavyweight world title in January 2016 with a third-round TKO over Vyacheslav Glazkov. Martin is coming off a fourth-round knockout against Devin Vargas last September in Los Angeles.
Rounding out the heavyweight doubleheader is the 10-round co-feature with Montreal-based wrecking ball Arslanbek Makhmudov (16-0, 15 KOs) taking on Nigeria’s Raphael Akpejiori. (15-0, 14 KOs).
The undercard streams exclusively on ESPN+.
Calling the action will be Andre Ward, a Hall of Famer and 2004 U.S. Olympic gold medalist, and Timothy Bradley Jr., a Class of 2023 Hall of Famer. Serving as reporters will be Mark Kriegel, Bernardo Osuna, and Crystina Poncher.
Main Card
Heavyweight – Jared Anderson vs. Charles Martin
Lightweight – Abdullah Mason vs. Alex de Oliveira
Heavyweight – Arslanbek Makhmudov vs. Raphael Akpejiori
Prelim Undercard
Junior Lightweight – Tiger Johnson vs. Jonathan Montrel
Light Heavyweight – Dante Benjamin vs. Mirady Lubanzadio Zola
Super Middleweight – DeAndre Ware vs. Decarlo Perez
Junior Middleweight – Husam Al Mashhadi vs. Rance Ward
Junior Lightweight – Tyler McCreary vs. Deivi Julio
Junior Middleweight – Jahi Tucker vs. Nicklaus Flaz
Top Rank Presents Heavyweight Showdown: Jared Anderson vs. Charles Martin on Saturday, July 1, 2023 at 10:00 p.m. ET/ 7:00 p.m. PT LIVE on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+ Live Stream Online.
