Jared Anderson: Is ‘The Real Big Baby’ America’s Next Great Heavyweight?
Jared Anderson faces the biggest test of his career on August 3 when the heavyweight contender takes on Martin Bakole on the Riyadh Season super-card in Los Angeles.
Anderson (17-0-0 15 KO) has for some time been regarded as the next great hope of American heavyweight boxing during an era when American fighters have struggled to match the level of rivals from other nations, particularly since Deontay Wilder’s long reign as WBC champion came to an end.
Boxing history is filled with great American heavyweights; from Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, and Rocky Marciano to Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and Mike Tyson – and many more. It makes the absence of a current world champion from the United States even more alarming.
As a result, there is enormous desire to see a new generation of American heavyweights finally emerge once the likes of Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, and Anthony Joshua – all approaching or beyond their mid-30s – eventually hang up their gloves.
But is Anderson the man to lead the charge? Inside the ropes, he has done everything right up to this point, but lack of discipline outside the ring and troubles with the law have threatened to derail a promising career.
With around two weeks to go until his fight against the highly ranked Bakole – a fight that, if Anderson wins, will push him closer toward a title shot – it’s the ideal time to take a closer look at the prospects of a fighter who calls himself ‘The Real Big Baby’.
Boxing Career Of Anderson
Anderson entered the professional ranks in October 2019 following an excellent amateur career during which he won successive heavyweight U.S. National Championships titles in 2017 and 2018.
After signing a long-term promotional deal with Top Rank in September 2019, Anderson made his debut one month later, securing a first-round stoppage. Contesting four-, six-, and eight-round bouts, he stopped all of his next nine opponents.
In his 10th pro fight, a 21-year-old Anderson earned the first title of his career, claiming the North American Boxing Federation junior heavyweight belt with a crushing second-round knockout of Vladimir Tereshkin. That fight took place on the undercard of Fury v Wilder III, and Anderson had sparred with Fury in preparation for his WBC world title defense against the ‘Bronze Bomber’.
Anderson advanced to 10-round bouts in his 13th fight and duly claimed the WBO’s vacant international heavyweight title with a second-round TKO of Jerry Forrest in December 2022. He defended the title four months later and added the vacant WBC USA title to his collection with a third-round stoppage win over George Arias.
Anderson has made three successful defenses of his two belts, including a points win over short-lived world champion Charles Martin and most recently against Ryad Merhy in April. Martin and Merhy are the only opponents to take Anderson the distance.
Troubles Away From Boxing
For all the seamless progress Anderson has made in the ring, a couple of high-profile arrests raised a few alarms that a lack of discipline could ultimately derail his career if he wasn’t careful.
In November last year, the Toledo, Ohio native was arrested and charged with improperly handling firearms while operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He pleaded no contest to an amended charge of improperly handling firearms in a vehicle. He was fined $200 and received a 180-day suspended sentence contingent on him not committing a similar offense within one year.
Then in February, Anderson was charged with third-degree felony fleeing a police officer after allegedly leading police on a high-speed car chase in Michigan. He was sentenced to 18 months probation and 100 hours of community service after the court accepted his plea to fourth-degree attempted fleeing and eluding.
In an interview with ESPN shortly after receiving his latest punishment, Anderson insisted he would learn from his “mistakes”.
“Very much an impulse decision,” Anderson said about the car chase. “I’m looked upon by many, whether I like it or not, which I really don’t, but … I have to be a better role model. … It’s a lesson learned, so just take away from it and keep pushing forward.
“I’m human. I’m 24. Everybody makes mistakes. It’s not gonna be my last mistake. I hope it’s my last mistake that involves me being arrested. I feel like a lot of people have painted pictures of me to be something I’m really not.
“I wouldn’t say I regret it, you know, lesson learned. I try to live my life with no regrets. Nothing we can really do about it at the moment other than face it head on, take it on the chin.”
Is Anderson The ‘Heir To The Throne’?
Former lineal and unified heavyweight world champion Fury has been forthright in his praise for Anderson, believing the American is the future of the division.
“Jared’s the man. This is the future champ right here,” Fury said ahead of his bout with Francis Ngannou last October. “I said it three years ago, I stand by my words. This is the heir to the throne, guys. You better believe it.”
Anderson’s promoter Bob Arum, who has promoted several heavyweight greats including Fury, Muhammad Ali, and George Foreman, is also convinced the 26-year-old will dominate the heavyweight division in the coming years.
“I believe that given the rest of the year, and next year, that by 2026 Jared will be fighting for the heavyweight championship of the world and be the next great heavyweight,” Arum said in April.
Before Anderson can take over, though, he must first deal with Bakole. The Congolese fighter (20-1-0 15 KO), who is the younger brother of former cruiserweight world champion Ilunga Makabu, is the No 1-ranked challenger by the WBA and should represent Anderson’s toughest challenge.
A statement victory on August 3, on the undercard of Terence Crawford v Israil Madrimov, will no doubt justify the hype.
