Amir Anderson gears up for his pro debut after being left out of Team USA for Paris 2024
It’s a big week in the life of Amir Anderson.
The 20-year-old American will be making his professional debut on Saturday, but had things been a little different he could have been gearing up to compete for the light heavyweight Olympic gold medal in Paris on Wednesday.
“Yeah, it’s definitely disheartening watching the Olympics and not seeing myself there,” Anderson told The Ring on Monday. “I’m having bittersweet moments about it.
“I know if I was on the Team USA, I would have got the gold medal, so it was more their loss. But now I’m just looking forward to Misfits 16 and getting ready for my pro debut.”
Anderson, who won 10 national titles as an amateur and went 88-12, had attempted to qualify for the Olympics but things didn’t play out.
“I fought in the Olympic trials and a situation happened that I got knocked down, [against Obed Bartee-El] and they stopped the fight,” he explained. “I continued to fight and won every single minute of the fight after the knockdown.
“They reversed the decision back to him winning the fight. After that we went into arbitration going against the Olympic trials decision and I won the appeal, so they reversed it back to me. I finished out my Olympic trials. I won against Steven Colome and Nathan Lugo.
“I went to camp to battle against Rahim Gonzales where I felt I performed better than him in the camp and the competition, I was the winner. I went into competition in the invitationals and won against Erik Mendoza and Taylor Bevan and won a walkover win over Rahim Gonzales. They pulled me to one side and told me, they didn’t select me for the US team after telling me, If I won the tournament I’d be the representative at the qualifiers. It was definitely disappointing but nothing I can do now.”
The Syracuse, New York native, who trains with Chris Burns, decided his future lay in the professional ranks and signed with Wasserman/ Misfits.
“I did everything I can in the amateurs other than the Olympics,” he said. “Just how USA boxing handled the Olympic trials situation and then the selection process, why keep fighting and win these tournament we’ve already won for an organization that really doesn’t care about us, it cares about getting a medal instead of caring about the fighters.”
He’ll face Kijonti Davis (1-5, 1 KO) at James Knight Convention Center, Miami, Florida as part of Misfits 16 on DAZN.
“I’m excited, I’ve been working on a lot of new techniques and focused on slowing down my pace and feel I’m sharper as a pro than I was as an amateur,” he said. “I’m ready to see for myself. I’m doing a 6-rounder, it’s going to be fun doing an extra three-rounds compared to amateurs. I’m going to go in there and have fun and work on stuff I’ve been working on in the gym.”
As a professional Anderson will begin life as a middleweight. He was an elite amateur and intends to make his mark as a professional in the not too distant future.
“My goal is to win a world title, when I was a kid, I was fighting tournament after tournament, getting no breaks, trying to get a national title and I have the same mentality going into the pros,” he said. “I have to have that mentality to be consistent to stay on track and stay motivated and discipled to get that world title.
“Staying consistent for the next three or four years and eventually getting a world title shot. Tune in, follow me throughout my career, a little kid from Syracuse, New York.”
Kalle Sauerland of Wasserman Boxing is very happy to have added “Cashman” Anderson to his roster.
“We’re very, very excited about it,” said Sauerland. “He’s [one of] the hottest talents coming out of the US of the next generation and we were very excited to win his signature with all the major promoters going for him. It was a big win for Misfits.”
Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at elraincoat@live.co.uk.
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