By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten heavyweight hopeful Jared ‘Big Baby’ Anderson of Toledo, Ohio returns to the ring in Tulsa, Oklahoma this Saturday, August 27th when he takes on Miljan Rovcanin of Montenegro. The 10-round bout can be seen live in America on ESPN+ and ESPN while those in the UK can catch it on Sky Sports Arena and Canadian fans can catch it on TSN 5. Anderson last fought in December when he stopped Olelsandr Teslenko in the second round while Rovcanin disposed of Nikola Mrda in the second round in his last outing in March.
Anderson is just 22 years old and owns a perfect record of 11-0 with 11 Ko’s. He’s boxed just 24 rounds since making his pro debut in 2019 and that’s obviously because he owns a 100 per cent knockout ratio. He enjoyed a successful amateur career and won the 2017 and 2018 U.S. National Championships. Understandably, he’s being brought along slowly in the pro ranks but 10 of his 11 opponents have entered the ring with a winning record.
He won the vacant NABF Jr. Heavyweight Title in October, 2021 when he stopped Vladimir Tereshkin in the second round. Anderson stands 6-feet-4-inches tall with a 78.5-inch reach. He’s not the quickest or most fluid heavyweight out there but certainly has the power and determination to make his mark in the division. He’s taking a slight step up in class this weekend as he works his way up the ladder to taking on some higher-ranked heavyweights.
As for Rovcanin, He’s a 28-year-old who now fights out of Serbia. He climbs through the ropes with a mark of 24-2 with 16 Ko’s and has boxed 97 rounds since turning pro as a teenager in 2012. He hasn’t really fought many recognizable opponents up to now either but captured the vacant World Boxing Federation International Cruiserweight Title in 2013 when he stopped Misa Nikolic in the first round. He then added the vacant Serbian Heavyweight title in 2017 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Dusan Krstan.
Rovacnin’s toughest opponents have been Alexander Dimitrenko and Agit Kabayel and he lost to both of them. He met Dimitrenko in 2017 with the bout ending in a draw. However, Dimtrenko’s camp appealed the decision since Rovcanin was deducted a point on three occasions during the bout and according to the rules in Germany, where the fight was held, he should have been disqualified. The decision was then changed to loss by disqualification. He fought Kabayel in 2018 for the European Heavyweight Title and was stopped in the third round.
Out of his 26 opponents so far, Rovacnin has faced just eight who have entered the ring with winning records and he was beaten by two of them. He’ll be arguably taking a step up in class on Saturday night when he fights outside of Europe and in America for the first time. As far as size goes, Rovcanin’s height and reach are both unlisted unfortunately. He does possess decent power in his fists though as his current knockout ratio stands at 61.5 per cent.
Prediction…
On paper this appears to be Anderson’s toughest pro test so far. But it should be one which he passes without much problem due to his power.
