Jared Anderson is young and talented enough to trust the process.
A homecoming headliner is in store for the 23-year-old heavyweight contender, just shy of four years into his promising career. The trip to Toledo, Ohio will mark a series of firsts for Anderson—his debut as a main event fighter, of fighting in his home state and facing a former titleholder in Charles Martin.
“Putting me in the main event in a fight like this tells me Top Rank has their full confidence behind me,” Anderson told BoxingScene.com. “I’ve always known that, though. I’m at the point in my career where they know I’m ready for them to push me the way they’ve pushed me.
“We’re just going to keep going how it’s been and I’ll be ready for whatever challenge they offer me.”
Anderson (14-0, 14KOs) was originally due to face Kazakhstan’s Zhan Kossobutskiy (19-0, 18KOs) on an ESPN telecast that would feature four undefeated heavyweights from the Huntington Center in Toledo. Kossobutskiy was unable to secure a travel visa in time, though Top Rank raced to secure another relevant opponent.
Martin (29-3-1, 26KOs) was already in camp and rumored to face Gurgen Hovhannisyan on the Errol Spence-Terence Crawford undercard when the former IBF heavyweight titlist got the call. Anderson was ready to face whoever Top Rank put in the ring with him, a blank check he made available the moment he signed with Top Rank out of the amateurs nearly four years ago.
“Top Rank has been perfectly fine with how they’ve moved my career,” stated Anderson, who is coming off a second-round knockout of unbeaten George Arias on April 8 in Newark, New Jersey. “They’ve been doing exactly what they’re supposed to do. I’m just now becoming a big enough draw where they know my whole city will come out and support me. That’s just how it goes.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox