CHARLES MARTIN still carries the goal of winning another heavyweight belt.
In his 24th fight the American won the IBF’s version seven years ago with a third-round stoppage win against Vyacheslav Glazkov. That win put him in the crosshairs of Anthony Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn who were looking for a piece of the pie themselves.
Three months later Martin was in London to make his first defence against the 2012 Olympic gold medallist. Midway through round two the reign of ‘Prince Charles’ was over, and Britain had a new boxing hero.
Seven years on Martin 29-3-1 (26) is preparing to take on rising heavyweight star Jared Anderson. Top Rank are backing Anderson to go all the way, and many agree that the Toledo talent has what it takes to disrupt the top tier in boxing’s biggest division.
In January 2022 Martin lost to perennial contender Luis Ortiz and is now tasked with ruining Anderson’s homecoming at Toledo’s Huntington Centre on July 1. The 37-year-old was brought in as a replacement for original opponent Zhan Kossobutskiy after the Kazakh was forced to withdraw because of visa issues.
Anderson is an overwhelming favourite to beat Martin and will look to make it 15 out of 15 early finishes in front of his home fans. If the veteran is to fulfil his ambitions of winning another heavyweight strap, then a win against Anderson is a must.
“I’ve always said I will fight anyone, anywhere, anytime,” Martin said.
“If I have to fight on less than two weeks’ notice to get a big opportunity, so be it. I’m ready. And since I can’t get the best guys from my generation to fight me, I’ll fight the best guy from the new generation. My goal is to become a two-time heavyweight champion. I have to beat Jared Anderson to accomplish my goal.”