Jared Anderson, the main sparring partner of Tyson Fury, has suffered an injury just weeks before 'The Gypsy King' faces Dillian Whyte.
Undefeated heavyweight Anderson was recruited by Fury before his rematch and third encounter with Deontay Wilder. The Brit was clearly impressed by the skills of 'Big Baby' as he brought him in to prepare for his WBC title defence against Whyte on April 23.
Twenty-two-year-old Anderson was supposed to be making his UK debut on the undercard of the event, but the American revealed he will no longer be fighting next month due to an undisclosed injury.
"To all my fans and supporters, I would like to personally apologise because I will no longer be able to fight on the Fury vs. Whyte undercard due to injury,” he wrote. “I rushed this camp, and now I have to go into hiding. I will be back ten times stronger. Yours truly, The Real Big Baby.”
Anderson won back-to-back National Championships in 2017 and 2018 before he turned professional the following year. He won seven fights in just over 12 months and won the junior NABF heavyweight title on the undercard of Fury's trilogy with Wilder.
Both Fury and his father John have praised the skills of Anderson, with 'The Gyspy King' backing him to become a world champion. Anderson is undefeated in 11 professional fights with all of his wins coming by knockout.
"Tyson said the next heavyweight champion after him is Jared Anderson," Fury's promoter Bob Arum told Sky Sports. "I saw it with my own eyes how Jared gave him fantastic sparring on both [second and third] of the Wilder fights."
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Fury also brought in Martin Bakole and David Adeleye to help him prepare. Bakole is the younger brother of WBC middleweight titleholder Ilunga Makabu, whilst Adeleye is undefeated in eight fights and was signed by Fury's promoter Frank Warren in 2019.
Anderson last fought on the undercard of Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Richard Commey when he knocked out Oleksandr Teslenko in two rounds. He won the NABF title just two months earlier by handing Vladimir Tereshkin his first professional loss.
Little has been heard from Fury since he started his trademark social media blackout to prepare for his fight with Whyte. 'The Bodysnatcher' refused to attend the press conference last month and has been training for his first world title shot in Portugal.
