Bob Arum Defends Jared Anderson Retirement Talk

Jared Anderson, the 23 year old heavyweight from Toledo, Ohio, got some flak recently from fight fans who think his commitment to the sport isn’t what it needs to be.

Anderson, who holds a 16-0 record, with 15 KOs, has stepped up this year, as a headliner.

He’s spoken with a bit more truth than some can handle along the way, mentioning that he’s not inclined to fight forever.

His directness has thrown some folks off.

“This is a business, this is a sport,” Anderson said in the ring after his last outing (8-26 TKO5 win over Andrei Rudenko).

“I don’t feel like I have to be world champion,” he stated, last week.

He’s thinking he’d like to fight four more years, and exit the scene at age 27.

Jared Anderson Is 23, Already Talking Retirement

Now, plenty of fight fans have taken this in, and reacted. They are thinking this is a bad sign…that Jared Anderson isn’t as committed as he should be. That his motivation and desire to be all that isn’t there.

So, I put it to Top Rank chief Bob Arum, and asked him about Jared Anderson talking retirement. “It doesn’t matter,” Arum told me. “If he does become champion, he can do a Rocky Marciano, leave and live comfortably ever after. Hopefully, he’s such a prodigy, by the time he’s 27, he’s made enormous amounts of money.”

OK, so what’s the rough sketch plan for the Toledo, Ohio boxer?

“Next year, we hope to have him fight four times, all contenders,” Arum said.

“Then by 2025 be in title contention to fight for a championship. “Then he can fight for two years, make a load of money, and ride off into the sunset.”