“I still feel the same way I was when I was 15. I want to get my money, and I want to get out. People don’t know how tiring it can be to work out all day, every day, and get punched in the face for a living,” Anderson said to Nothing Fancy. “Yes, it’s a comeback. I’m planning on fighting again, and yes, it’s for the money, just like everybody else. Ain’t nobody doing this for free.”

The difficulty is that Anderson already cashed in the commercial value Top Rank spent nearly five years creating. He had been matched in much the same way Queensberry has handled Moses Itauma, using controlled opposition to build the image of a future heavyweight champion before exposing him to the division’s hardest tests.

He looked like gold while knocking out opponents selected to make him shine. The warning signs surfaced when Charles Martin hurt him during their July 2023 fight. Ryad Merhy then remained behind his guard for ten rounds in April 2024, and Anderson lacked the offensive variety to break him down.

Those flaws were visible on film. Anderson often pulled straight back with his chin raised, leaving himself open to Martin’s left hand. Bakole punished the same defensive weakness with uppercuts and heavy combinations. Anderson looked dangerous while advancing against compliant opposition, but he had little inside control once a stronger heavyweight forced him backward.

Rather than continue developing, Anderson accepted a dangerous fight against Bakole on Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season card in Los Angeles. His management and Top Rank opposed the match, but Anderson wanted the purse after his mother broke her ankle and he encountered financial pressure.

“It was definitely for the money,” Anderson said.

Top Rank’s Careful Build Collapses

At the time, Anderson had considerable promotional support. ESPN ranked him No. 8 at heavyweight, Turki selected him as a Riyadh Season ambassador, and he was promoted as the leading candidate to become America’s next heavyweight star.

The original plan was for Anderson to face a faded Deontay Wilder. When Wilder was stopped by Zhilei Zhang, Bakole replaced him. Anderson chose the immediate money instead of returning to Top Rank’s safer matchmaking.

Bakole destroyed the product in five rounds. Anderson was dropped once in the first and twice in the fifth before the contest was stopped. His rankings, popularity and aura disappeared with the loss.

That collapse also left American boxing without the heavyweight attraction Top Rank had planned to build around. Wilder was already fading, and Anderson was supposed to replace him as the division’s leading American name. The Bakole knockout erased that blueprint before Anderson had developed the following or signature win needed to survive a defeat.

Long before entering the ring, Anderson understood the danger. Asked when he first thought he might lose, he answered, “Two months before.” He also described his unusual dancing before the fight as a coping mechanism used to control his nerves.

No serious rebuilding campaign followed the defeat. Anderson returned six months later and struggled to a ten-round decision over Marios Kollias in February 2025. He has not fought since.

No Retirement Payday Waiting

Within two years, Anderson expects to be home with his daughter and involved in boxing without competing. He has no interest in absorbing punishment long enough to suffer damaged speech or the neurological decline seen in older fighters.

“Who wants to get punched in the face all day? Nobody does that. Nobody wants to just get punched. It’s not smart,” Anderson said. “I don’t got to get punched in the face all day, every day. Just because I’m good at it, that means I got to want to have black eyes? That means I got to want to be talking crazy and have a lisp?”

Protecting his health is sensible. Believing boxing will provide another life changing payday before he leaves is far less realistic.

Major wins are needed to restore his earning power, but his performances against Martin, Merhy, Bakole and Kollias showed that he lacks the defense and offensive depth of a top tier heavyweight. Facing a leading contender risks another damaging loss.

That leaves Anderson trapped between money and matchmaking. Safe opponents may keep him winning, but those fights will not pay enough to finance an early exit. The opponents who might bring a large purse are the same heavyweights most capable of hurting him.

Top Rank created a route that might have led Anderson to championship money. He abandoned it for one Riyadh Season purse against Bakole. Two years later, Anderson is less popular, lower ranked and talking about retirement without securing the fortune he expected boxing to provide.