Heavyweight Anderson arrested for obstructing

Heavyweight contender Jared Anderson was arrested Thursday on a warrant for allegedly obstructing police in Huron Township, Michigan, according to court records obtained by ESPN.

Anderson, ESPN’s No. 8 heavyweight, is set to headline Top Rank Boxing on ESPN on April 13 vs. Ryad Merhy, in Corpus Christi, Texas. The 24-year-old Anderson of Toledo, Ohio, is widely considered America’s top heavyweight champion hopeful.

Top Rank declined comment.

Anderson was previously arrested in November in Ohio and charged with improperly handling firearms in a vehicle while knowingly under the influence and operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

In December, Anderson pleaded no contest to an amended charge of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle while the OVI charge was dropped.

He was fined $200 and handed a 180-day suspended sentence at the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio contingent on Anderson not committing a similar offense within one year. Anderson (16-0, 15 KOs) last fought in August when he scored a fifth-round TKO victory over Andriy Rudenko. He fought twice more in 2023, picking up victories over George Arias in March (TKO 3) and former heavyweight titleholder Charles Martin in July. The decision win over Martin was the lone time an Anderson opponent heard the final bell.