The biggest available version of Ryad Merhy will be in the ring for his toughest test.

It could prove to be a wise strategy as his higher-profile opponent was also at his heaviest weight in three years. Jared Anderson weighed 250.9 pounds for his crossroads bout versus Belgium’s Merhy, who was a career heaviest 235.6 pounds.

Their heavyweight contest headlines this Saturday from American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. ESPN will air their scheduled ten-round affair presented by Top Rank, beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. local time.

Anderson (16-0, 15 knockouts), No. 7 at heavyweight by The Ring, was more than eleven pounds heavier than his last outing. The undefeated 24-year old from Toledo, Ohio was 239.6 pounds in a fifth-round knockout of Andrii Rudenko last August 26 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Friday’s weight was his heaviest since an April 2021. He weighed 251.8 pounds in a second-round knockout of Jeremiah Karpency, also in Tulsa.

Merhy (32-2, 26 KOs) fights at heavyweight for the fourth time. He previously held the ‘Regular’ and ‘Interim’ versions of the WBA cruiserweight titles before an eleventh-round knockout loss to Arsen Goulamirian.

Their March 2018 bout was Merhy’s first defeat, followed five wins at cruiserweight before he moved up in weight. The 31-year Belgian won via knockout in October 2022 before he dropped a unanimous decision to Kevin Lerena last May.

Merhy was 217 ¾ pounds for that fight, but a previous career-heaviest for his most notable win to date. He traveled to Paris outpoint 2016 Olympic Gold medalist Tony Yoka over ten rounds last December 9.

A pair of 2016 Olympians will meet in the evening’s co-feature.

Efe Ajagba (19-1, 14 KOs) was 241.2 pounds, the most he’s weighed since a September 2020 win over Jonathan Rice. The 2016 Olympian for Nigeria, now based in the greater Houston area, was 237 ½ pounds in a fourth-round knockout of Joseph Goodall last November 4.

Italy’s Guido Vianello (12-1-1, 10 KOs) matched his career-heaviest weight of 244 ½ pounds on Friday. A two-fight win streak precedes his showdown versus Ajagba since his lone career defeat. Vianello was stopped in the seventh round by Rice due to a cut last January 14 in Verona, New York.

In his most recent bout, Vianello earned a first-round stoppage of Moses Johnson on February 16 in New York City.

Below are the weight for the rest of the undercard.

8 rounds, Lightweight
Robson Conceicao (17-2-1, 8 KOs), Salvador, Brazil, 131.6 pounds
Jose Guardado (15-1-1, 5 KOs), Ensenada, Mexico , 131 ½ pounds
Note: Conceicao is a 2016 Olympic Gold medalist and rated No. 7 at 130 by The Ring

4 rounds, Middleweight
Julian Delgado (pro debut), Corpus Christi, 159.3 pounds
Juan Tamez (1-0, 0 KOs), Laredo, Texas, 159 pounds

10 rounds, Featherweight
Ruben Villa (21-1, 7 KO), Salinas, California, 125.6 pounds
Cristian Cruz (22-6-1, 11 KOs), Tijuana, Mexico, 125.1 pounds
Note: Villa is The Ring’s No. 10-rated featherweight

6 rounds, Welterweight
John Rincon (8-0, 2 KOs), Corpus Christi, 143 pounds
Yainiel Alvarez (3-3-2, 1 KO), Houston, 143 ½ pounds

8 rounds, Lightweight
Abdullah Mason (12-0, 10 KOs), Cleveland, Ohio, 134.6 pounds
Ronal Ron (14-5, 11 KOs), Chino Hills, , 134.7 pounds

8 rounds, Junior Lightweight
Charley Suarez (4-0, KOs), Manila, Philippines 131.8 pounds
Luis Coria (15-6, 7 KO), Perris, California, 131.7 pounds

8 rounds, Junior Lightweight
Jalen Walker (12-0, 10 KOs), Los Angeles, 131.2 pounds
Alejandro Guerrero (12-4, 9 KOs), Irving, Texas 131.8 pounds

4 rounds, Heavyweight
Ali Feliz (pro debut), Danbury, Connecticut, 219.1 pounds
Anthony Woodson III (1-1, 1 KO), Gary, Indiana, 280.2 pounds

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Follow @JakeNDaBox

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