Boxing champ returns home for a fight in the Glass City

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson is a big name in the sport of boxing. He’s a Toledo native who has had huge success in his young career and his next fight will be in the Glass City.

Toledo is where it all began for Anderson, a Scott High School alum. He started boxing as a boy and his talent has propelled him onto the world stage where he is currently an undefeated knockout artist.

Anderson first stepped in the ring when he was eight years old, and it wasn’t his idea.

“My mom took me to the gym, she wouldn’t let me quit,” said Anderson. “In the beginning, my mom wanted me to box more than I wanted to box.”

It didn’t take long for Anderson to begin loving the sport and racking up wins, and he hasn’t looked back since. He trains in Houston, Texas but he’s come back home to promote his fight at the Huntington Center this summer.

“Toledo means everything to me,” said Anderson.

Anderson has carried the relationships he forged in Toledo as a young boxer with him throughout his career.

“Finding friendships and building bonds, you know, my coach is one of my best friends,” said Anderson. “I’ve got a lot of brothers from this sport we bonded through the years of sacrifice.”

His record as a professional boxer is 14-0. Two of those wins came on one of the biggest stages in the world, Madison Square Garden.

“Just another thing to mark off my check list,” said Anderson. “The crowd was great, both times, it was an amazing feeling. The atmosphere was crazy.”

As for his undefeated record, Anderson believes he can keep his streak going.

“I just gotta keep going. I ain’t done nothing yet, that’s what I tell myself as a mechanism to make sure I make it,” said Anderson. “I do think I can go a lot further, even with as far as I’ve gone. The sky is the limit, so I’m going to keep pushing.”

Anderson says he wants to be a champ both in and out of the ring.

“I am able to gift kids with motivation and inspiration so they can carry out their dreams,” said Anderson.

Even though Anderson lives and trains out of Houston, he carries his hometown wherever he goes and he wants to score a knockout for the city that he loves.

“Toledo means everything to me it’s my home, my fighting pride. It’s my stomping grounds,” said Anderson. “I wear it across my chest and carry it on my shoulders and my back everywhere I go.”

When asked about what he misses most about Toledo, Anderson said he misses the people, the places and the food from locally owned places that you can’t get anywhere else, like Gino’s Pizza.

To purchase tickets to Anderson’s fight this summer at the Huntington Center, click here.

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