Jared Anderson: 'Expect the best version of me' against Ryad Merhi

Jared Anderson isn’t expected to have too much trouble with Ryad Merhy on Saturday in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The rising 24-year-old heavyweight contender acknowledged the challenge smaller opponents can pose sometimes. Anderson has about a 5-inch height advantage over Merhy, a former cruiserweight contender. And Merhy (32-2, 26 KOs) has more experience.

Still, Anderson (16-0, 15 KOs) has no doubts about who is going to have his hand raised on ESPN.

“Merhy has a different level of experience,” Anderson said. “But everything from my amateur pedigree and what I’ve always done to everyone, whether they have experience or not, will play a different role.”

“The challenge [with smaller fighters] is that you have to sometimes deal with their speed, which we trained for. But I don’t really see to many challenges with this. I don’t really see too many challenges.

“I’m used to fighting all types of different people. I’m used to training with all types of people. So if you don’t prepare properly, then you won’t perform properly. So just know that we came prepared for sure.”

Merhy has fought only three times as a full-fledged heavyweight, with mixed results.

The 31-year-old Belgian suffered a significant setback when he lost a unanimous decision to former contender Kevin Lerena last May. However, he bounced back to claim his biggest victory, a split-decision upset of 2016 Olympic gold medalist Tony Yoka in December.

That result earned him the opportunity to face a top contender on a big stage, although he acknowledged that he’s fortunate.

“I’m very happy to be here,” Merhy said. “What a great opportunity. Who would have ever thought that from a small country like Belgium I would be able to show my talent in America? I hope to represent my country.”

That doesn’t mean he’s coming to lose.

Yes, he’s naturally smaller than Anderson, who weighed in Friday 15.3 pounds heavier than his opponent (250.9 to 235.6). However, he believes he can compensate with his edge in experience.

“Jared is a very talented fighter,” Merhy said. “He is a great prospect. But this Saturday I’m going to show that he still has a long way to go. I have gone 177 rounds as a pro, while Anderson has only gone 46. So we’ll see if that plays a big difference on Saturday.”

Anderson doesn’t believe anything will prevent him from notching another victory and moving a step closer to his first title shot.

“Expect the best version of me,” he said. “Expect to see me shine. Expect to see me dominate and show why I belong here.”