STANDING 6ft 4in and weighing over 17 stone, Jared Anderson isn’t exactly a private person but the rising star of American heavyweight boxing wishes he wasn’t burning so brightly. In fact, he hopes that by the age of 26, he will be completely gone.
While most people in his position would brag in anticipation of a decade of domination marked by countless belts and unsurpassed popularity, 23-year-old Anderson has completely followed a different path. “I only do this because I’m stuck with it,” he said, shrugging.
That initial attachment occurred when he was just eight years old, his first match came about a year later and by the age of 15, when he won the national title and then competed in at the World Youth Championships in St. Petersburg, Anderson began to think that there might be a future in the sport for him.
Now, within nine years of that epiphany, he speaks like a man who has plugged his head into life. “I was good at it, and then stuck with it,” he added.
“But this is my revenue and I’m good at it, I can make some money from it. By the time I’m 26, I want to finish boxing, 100%. The long-term goal is to achieve generational wealth – in three years? – I can do it, just type the right name. Fight the bigger names, become world champion, if not undisputed, and then get knocked out.
“Then I’ll probably fall off the ground. I think I can do it in two years, maybe three. Within four hours I will be gone.”
He’s only now started his professional career three years ago and has so far racked up a 12-0 (12) record, averaging just four games a year. Even for a man who’s not in a hurry at all, it’s hardly quick. He’s in for his 13th this weekend against seasoned Jerry Forrest at Madison Square Garden. This is his first lap of 10 but he is not expected to go the distance.
What is more likely is another statement of knockout and more praise for the man widely expected to emerge from the current pool of promising young, promising heavyweights as way is king of all.
It just feels like it’s growing and evolving, he added. “Every time I go out, I get more followers, shine and stuff like that. But honestly I don’t want to be infamous.
“Okay, a lot of people like to party and club, I don’t. A lot of people like the attention, I don’t. I don’t want stickers everywhere, my face is everywhere, everyone knows who I am. I don’t like that at all.
“But I knew it was coming and there was nothing I could do. I am stuck with it now. When I was a kid I never watched boxing, I still haven’t now. I did not pay attention. I feel like it helps me just stand up and fight.
“I’m good but I don’t like people paying attention to me. I want groceries in peace. I’m being ambushed and then if you don’t stop it’s not good, it’s a bad image. So now I can’t relax? I just wanted to relax in my own skin and not be rushed. I don’t like being around people all the time.”
Jared Anderson (Ian Maule/Getty Images)
Even with all that said, Anderson, known as “Big Baby,” is acutely aware of the role boxing played in turning his life around. Now living in Houston with her two dogs, Azul and JR, Anderson has never been away from a very different life.
“I grew up in Toledo, Ohio, but I left two years ago. It’s not a good location, there’s not much going on – but there’s a lot of jealousy, hatred and drug use. There are many cases of opioid overdose in that state. So bad. One of my first cousins died of a heroin overdose.
“Those drugs are definitely an easy way to make money and I guarantee that if I hadn’t been boxing I would have sold it. Boxing and surroundings keep me away from all that. My mother was very strict with me and then when I was old enough to play with my brother and his friends, they were the ones who kept me out of all that – they saw me get into boxing. how much.
And it was that big brother that provided him with what appeared to be one of the main reasons he had to box. It has been nine years since Adam Anderson, better known as Dub, was sentenced to 22 years in an Ohio prison. Adam was the reason why Anderson decided to make his final match, against Milijan Rovcanin in August, wearing a prison shirt and having his hands and feet shackled.
“It’s more or less related to him and his situation,” explains Anderson, wearing a hat that reads ‘FREE DUB’. “I am trying to make that clear. That is my goal.
“I talk to him a lot. I wish he was closer to us but my mom and I really don’t need to be in that city anymore. Hopefully he doesn’t have to run out of time and we can get him out of there a lot sooner than his sentence.
“But all my games are on ESPN so he can watch them inside. It’s like a connection to him even when he’s inside and that’s another reason to make such an outfit. I knew he was coming to see the game so I did it for the ring aisle.
“He was shown a lot of love inside because he was my brother, he said that one day someone came to him and gave him some extra food just because he watched the show. my war. They are looking for him for me. I think he’ll make it in two or three years.”
Looks like he’s timing his brother’s debut with the end of his own boxing career. “Bingo,” he said, finally smiling.
“After that, I wanted to explore the world; There are so many places I haven’t been but want to go and there are so many things I want to do but haven’t done yet. I will do all of them. I don’t have much time off from boxing.
“I have been everywhere: Poland, the Netherlands, Nicaragua but all those places I went to boxing. Actually the only place I’ve ever vacationed is Cancun. I want to go to Jamaica, Hawaii, Dubai, Spain, Brazil, everywhere. I want my brother to travel around with me – we just need to get him out of the papers!”
Saturday’s win would bring him closer to the heavyweight top 10. Given that the likes of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are clearly at the end of their careers, it’s a split on the brink of major change. Anderson’s quick smack and grab could pay off.
“I would finish things up and then disappear,” Anderson said. “I would be great without boxing.
“This is not a choice, I am not here by choice. I wouldn’t do it if that was my choice but I’m good at it. It’s up to me to make it count.
