The expectation could be overwhelming for others. 

But Jared Anderson is internally motivated, and barely entertains the label so many have bestowed on the highly lauded 23-year-old — the next great American heavyweight champion. 

The heavyweight division always has held its own, special place in American sports lore, creating some of the biggest superstars and most lucrative events the country has ever seen.

Though there are ample American champions and pound-for-pound greats in other divisions across boxing, there has largely been a dearth of American heavyweight stars and great champions dating back roughly two decades.  

Deontay Wilder made his mark as an all-time knockout artist and long-reigning American champion, but there are few, if any, other champions who held a title for an extended period of time or became a household name. 

Andy Ruiz was the first American unified champion since Hasim Rahman in 2001 when he stunned Anthony Joshua in 2019, but his career has since gone into a tailspin. 

There are currently no American heavyweight champions. 

But one of the most highly acclaimed rising prospects already-turned-contender, Anderson is on the cusp of ushering in a new era.

“That’s their opinion,” Anderson (15-0, 14 KOs) told The Post. “They have the right to feel that way [about me]. I’m just fighting. I don’t really get off on all that.  

“It’s opinionated. Everyone is gonna have their opinion. I can say it today, and tomorrow somebody else is gonna say it.” 

At an age where most would still be considered up-and-comers and padding their records, Anderson is already ranked in the top 10 in three of the four organizations and the top 15 in all four and has already headlined cards for Top Rank. 

But becoming the next great American heavyweight doesn’t mean much, if anything, to Anderson, who claims he’s only fighting to acquire generational wealth.

That’s the reason Anderson, who bluntly admitted “I’m broke,” hardly waited for his next fight, taking on 39-year-old veteran Andriy Rudenko as Top Rank’s main event again Saturday night (10:30 p.m., ESPN) at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tulsa, Okla. in a 10-round heavyweight bout. 

It comes less than two months after his unanimous decision victory over Charles Martin on July 1 at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio. 

A Toledo native, it marked a special homecoming for Anderson.

But more importantly, it represented by far the biggest test Anderson has faced, and now answered, in his burgeoning career.

The 37-year-old Martin, a former champion, was the first opponent that Anderson was not able to knock out, meaning it was the first time Anderson has been taken the distance as a pro. 

“I’ve said that since the beginning of my career — that I wanted to go rounds,” Anderson said. “That I wanted to go the distance, and that I was OK with it. I do see some value in it. That wasn’t the specific fight that I thought it would happen in, but I applaud Charles Martin for coming ready, coming prepared. He tried to knock me off, but it didn’t work. 

“From my skill, from my personal grade. I would probably give myself a C+. I felt like I did well offensively. I think I could have done a lot better defensively. But that’s just me being a critic of myself… I won, and I won impressively.”

A few of the defensive struggles Anderson alluded to were most revealing. 

After dominating the early rounds and looking on his way to another dominant victory, Anderson sustained ample big shots from Martin that appeared to hurt him in the middle rounds.

It was largely the first time Anderson has taken damage as a professional, and pretty much the first time he has really been on the ropes and forced on the defensive. 

It was most prominent in the fifth round, when Martin caught him with several clean shots. 

But Anderson handled his first bit of adversity in the ring admirably, rallying to regain control and dominate the fight. 

For his part, Anderson claims it was just part of a thought-out plan. 

Wise beyond his years, perhaps Anderson was only showing off a different part of his ever-growing game. 

“To clarify, I was never hurt in that fight,” Anderson said. “I let him burn himself out. As you can see, I was still throwing punches, I was still defensively aware. When he did hit me with that shot, if you go back and actually look, where everybody thought it was such a big shot, I caught [him] with two punches after that. I caught the body shot, I caught the right hand to the head, and continued to smother his punches and make him not be able to hit me with the bigger shots. 

“I did what I was supposed to do. He punched himself out in that fifth round, I came back and took back control of the fight.”