Two undefeated heavyweights will be in the co-feature bout for the April 8th Top Rank card in Newark as Jared Anderson (13-0, 13 KOs) faces George Arias (18-0, 7 KOs) in a ten round fight that will precede Shakur Stevenson against Shuichiro Yoshino on ESPN. Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis (7-0, 5 KOs) faces former world title challenger Anthony Yigit (26-2-1, 10 KOs) will be in the opening bout on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

Anderson scored a second round stoppage victory over Jerry Forrest last December at Madison Square Garden and is ranked 11th in the WBC and 9th in the WBO. He has also been known in boxing circles for working with other notable heavyweights including WBC champion Tyson Fury.

“This is the kind of fight I’ve been waiting for, a big fight between two undefeated heavyweights,” Anderson said. “I’m excited to once again be fighting on the same card as Shakur Stevenson. Don’t miss this fight. April 8 is going to a special night in Newark.”

“Gentleman” George Arias has scored wins against three undefeated fighters in his last four fights, including a victory over Alante Green in Verona, New York last June. The Bronx native now has an opportunity to be a contender in the heavyweight division with a win over Anderson.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to go to war with Jared Anderson, one of the most highly regarded heavyweights right now,” Arias said. “I thank my team for helping me get to this position. I can’t wait to show my skills on such a big platform. On April 8, I will pull off the upset.”

In the same card that Anderson defeated Forrest, Keyshawn Davis dominated Juan Carlos Burgos en route to a wide unanimous decision win. His bout against Yigit will be his second at the Prudential Center as the Norfolk native defeated Omar Bahena by fifth round knockout last September. He is excited to return to that venue and wants to give the crowd that will be in attendance a great show.

“The Newark fans showed me so much love last time, and I can’t wait to give them another special performance,” Davis said. “I’m going to make Yigit regret taking this fight. He’s been in the ring with some good fighters, but I’m on another level.”

Yigit built a solid record at the start of his career which included wins over Sandor Martin and DeMarcus Corley before fighting for a world title in the super lightweight division, where he fell short against Ivan Baranchyk in 2018. After a couple of wins he challenged Rolando Romero in July 2021 for the interim WBA lightweight title but lost via seventh round stoppage. The Swedish contender is looking forward to this bout against Davis and he feels that his level of experience will be the key to victory.

“I’m excited to get back into the mix. Huge respect to Keyshawn for taking this fight, but he’s young,” Yigit said. “My edge is my experience. I’m going to use it.”

More details of the fight card will be provided at a later date.

Cover photo by James Bell