Boxing
Boxer/motorcyclist Michael “Slick” Anderson rides to the beat of his own engine
Michael Anderson stands over Eudy Bernardo during his fifth-round knockout victory in 2023. Photo: David Algranati/The Fight Photos
NEWARK, Novel Jersey — Michael Anderson is in many ways an anomaly. It’s not often that boxers continue to compete past the age of 40, especially in his home state of Novel Jersey, which requires greater health requirements for older boxers to obtain a license.
But for a 43-year-old known as “Slick,” he can look at himself in the mirror and realize he still has more to give. After all, in 24 years of competing, he claims that he has only had his nose broken twice. When asked why he doesn’t come back to life after boxing, he wonders why the same energy isn’t passed on to younger boxers on TV who he thinks he can beat.
Having self-managed for over a decade and invested over $200,000 to continue his career, no one will tell Anderson what to do with his life and career.
Far from a draw, Anderson (24-3-1, 18 knockouts) will be the headliner this Saturday, October 12 at the state’s premier sports arena, the Prudential Center in Newark, where he will face side challenger Daniel Gonzalez in a ten-round welterweight title fight free USBA strip. This will be his fourth fight at the stadium of the Novel Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League and his first appearance in a major tournament.
A victory over Gonzalez (21-4-1, 7 KO) would put him in the top 15 of the IBF 147-pound rankings, but Anderson is content and can continue doing his thing.
“I literally saw maybe three rounds of his fights. It was a fight he won and I turned it off. “I don’t mean to insult him, but when I looked at what he brought to the table, I didn’t see anything I hadn’t seen before,” said Anderson, of Newark.
“Brawlers want to fight until they get hit. He’s more than welcome to fight his fight and I’ll fight mine and then we’ll see who wins.
Photo: David Algranati/TheFightPhotos
For Anderson, his relationship with boxing began as a snail-paced simmer and eventually blossomed into a lifelong commitment. He first put on boxing gloves at the age of 12, when his uncle bought him a pair to play with his cousin. Instead of staying with boxing, he followed his father into martial arts, training in karate from the age of 5 to 13. He didn’t return to boxing until he was an adult, when his friend Faheem Gordon told him he was training at a local gym, the Dew Drop Boxing Club, run by Charlie “Dew Drop” Teenage, who is best known for coaching a former heavyweight. Heavyweight Kevin Johnson.
Anderson remembers being disappointed with the type of training his friend was doing, which involved jumping on his toes and throwing punches, and thought it would be effortless.
“I thought it was nothing compared to how my dad trained us. We broke sticks on our stomachs and got kicked while doing push-ups, walked on our stomachs and did ankle push-ups. “I went in one day and they told me to spar, I got a black eye, I knocked the kid down on the ropes, and then I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got to go back,'” Anderson recalled.
Anderson had a relatively tiny amateur career of 13 fights, winning the NJ Diamond Gloves and Golden Gloves in 2004 and a pair of Novel Jersey State Championships.
He never saw boxing as a potential career. Why would he do that? He already had a career in mail delivery, making a five-hour commute every day (except Sundays, when mail is not delivered) around the city of Orange. He worked as a postman for eight years and if it had stayed that way, he might have retired by now. But you wouldn’t be reading this story right now either.
His career took off in the mid-2000s when he contacted one of his favorite boxers, “Sugar” Shane Mosley, through the now-defunct social networking site MySpace. Anderson sent him messages every day telling the current Hall of Famer that he was going to the gym to work out, and every day his messages went unanswered. That was until one day when Mosley asked him to send him a tape of him boxing. Anderson sent the tape, and six months later he received another response from Mosley, asking him to visit a gym in Novel York to spar under the supervision of trainer Elliot Ness, an associate of Mosley who also worked as his bodyguard.
“When I walked up there, I looked like fresh meat. I was doing more than well against the bully in the gym, and Ness called Shane and I said, “This guy is really good here.” When Shane called me, he replied, “Hey, it’s Shane,” and I hung up on him. He called back and said, “Stop playing, it’s Shane.” Do you have some money on you? I want you to go to the airport, buy a ticket, I will give you money when you get here. I’m going to kick your ass when you get here,’” Anderson recalled.
“I was running when I got the call. I booked the flight nervously, thinking I would be scammed. I ended up getting to the airport and someone else came and picked me up. When I saw this mansion, I thought, “Oh shit.”
Initially, Anderson was approved for two weeks of leave from his job at the post office, but when Mosley asked him to extend his stay at the camp, Anderson was fired for failure to call and show up.
Mosley supported Anderson in his first six fights, which led him to turn professional in 2007, which resulted from his fight against Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden. He also fought in Mosley’s first fight against Ricardo Mayorga in Carson, California, and The Ring’s 2009 Fight of the Year between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz.
The partnership began to fall apart when Mosley was preoccupied with ongoing divorce proceedings from his then-wife Jin, who pointed Anderson to promoter Gary Shaw. Shaw carried forward Anderson’s career until his loss to Nick Casal, a third-round TKO loss in 2011, after which Anderson was eliminated.
From that point on, Anderson was a free agent, booking his own fights and selling tickets to finance his career. Why is he doing this?
Of course, it’s not because he needs bigger paychecks. Anderson has been making a living investing in real estate since 2003, when one day a real estate broker opened a loan for him and showed him how to buy his own property, helping him move out of the one-bedroom apartment he was renting from his mother. He currently owns two rental properties and is working on adding a third.
Not because I need excitement. Anderson finds enough of that in his motorcycle club, the Show Off Ridaz Motorcycle Club, a dozen-person group he founded in 2012. Anderson, who has been riding since 2002, previously owned a 750cc motorcycle, but now rides a Can-2012 Am Spyder, which has two wheels at the front for greater balance. He says he decided to drive more safely so as not to interrupt his career due to injuries suffered in an accident.
“When you ride a bike, no one can disturb you. You won’t hear the phone unless you stop and pull over because the engine is revving at high speeds. You get peace of mind, it’s just you, you can think about everything you need,” Anderson said.
He says there is a camaraderie among the riders that is not shared by other drivers. For example, Anderson says he sometimes drives up to a stoplight and sees other bikers who then invite him to a bonfire or party they’re going to.
“There’s a lot of partying and supporting each other. When people take off those cycling vests, they still have a job. So you can talk to an ambulance worker, you can talk to a police officer, you can talk to a social worker. “Right now, if I post that I need a job, a group of bikers will post where they work and they will support you get through,” Anderson said.
Realistically, Anderson feels he still has two years left in boxing. After winning 12 of his last 13 fights, including seven in a row, Anderson could find himself in a position to finally get his massive break if he can defeat Gonzalez.
Muhammad Abdul Salaam, who has been Anderson’s head coach since 2020, says he hopes Anderson gets a chance at least once before hanging up his gloves for good.
I just hope he can finally rest. There were people who lied and said they would support push him this way and that, but nothing would happen unless he did something for them. “I just hope he gets a fair shot at one of these guys to prove that if you take care of your body, don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t party, there is no such thing as being elderly,” Abdul Salaam said.
One of Anderson’s goals is to fight long enough for his four-year-old son to remember the last time he saw him in the ring. He may experience a great cathartic climax in his career, or he may simply ride off into the sunset, like his cycling club going to a barbecue or party in another city. Either way, every time he steps into the ring, he has something to prove.
“I just want to meet the guys who say they are the best so I can present my opinion to the world. Guys, don’t give up, don’t worry about what people say. It can be done,” Anderson said.
“The most satisfying thing is that I didn’t give up. I didn’t let boxing break me. I know too many players who got involved in politics and left. I say I won’t be that person. Until I make my mark, I won’t be that person.
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