By: Sean Cross
Demetrius Andrade holds two world title belts in two weight divisions. He also never lost a battle. Unfortunately, the Rhode Island native was unable to compete against a top opponent. The closest Andrade came to that event was in 2017 when he was set to face undefeated Billie Joe Sounder. Unfortunately, that surprise match fell through. But now, Andrade is moving up to supermiddleweight, where he expects veteran fighters to be willing to face him. With names like Canelo Alvarez, Caleb Plant and David Benavidez dominating the division, there are plenty of impressive individuals that the fighter known as “Boo Boo” could go up against.
And then, of course, there’s Jermall Charlo, the middleweight title contender we still have to remember. Although Andrade will relinquish his WBO middleweight crown, there is no doubt that he will be willing to make the necessary adjustments to face Charlo in the ring. Of course if Charlo is interested. In fact, Andrade is a high-risk opponent for any fighter. Slick, and difficult to access, it represents an extremely challenging night’s work for even the best names out there. In short, he might be too good to face — and Andrade’s lack of big in the power department makes him easy to get rid of without pushback from fans. Or at least it has until now.
Andrade has partnered with Showtime and PBC, which means he now fights in the same boxing universe as his high-end opponents. However, it’s not just the PBC fighters who have been reluctant to face Andrade in the past. Canelo and Gennady Golovkin, for example, have never been so eager to catch Andrade themselves. 31-0 Andrade has previously fought under the Matchroom banner but has yet to land a major matchup against Eddie Hearn’s Held organization.
But now, Andrade hopes to start a new phase of his career in big fashion. This weekend in Washington, DC, he will face the unheralded Desmond Nicholson on the undercard of the Gervonta Davis-Hector Luis Garcia pay-per-view event. If he emerges victorious on Saturday — and it would be a shock if he doesn’t — Andrade could be in a position to put some big names in the spotlight. And this time, he may not be easy to ignore.
