Andrade frustrated but looking forward to bigger fights

One of the premier middleweights in the world has fully understood several big names in his division, haven’t wanted to fight him in the recent past. Yet, WBO 160 lb. champ Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade is eagerly hoping that when boxing resumes in the ring, one of those names will finally agree to do so.

Andrade appeared on an exclusive Instagram live chat with Matchroom boxing promoter Eddie Hearn. And, in the video released Monday afternoon, made clear that fighters like Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin and either of the Charlo brothers should be willing to take him on,

“You gotta look at it as a business,” Andrade told his promoter (as if Hearn doesn’t know). “At the end of the day, does that person like Canelo…you know how contracts are….win, lose or draw, what’s gonna kill their “Cha-Cha-Cha-CHING?!

Some people lose and their contract goes down in numbers (less money). Why am I going to take the risk of fighting Andrade, when there’s a possibility of me losing. And then, have to start all over again.

But if you’re good, like Canelo, Triple G, if you’re Billy Joe Saunders, the Charlo Brothers, and you lose to Demetrius Andrade and you continue to show and make your own legacy, you can still be a Hall of Fame, guy.”

When last we saw the unbeaten Andrade in the ring, it was the Thursday night of Super Bowl week in the Miami area. That’s when, he scored a 9th round TKO (above) over British fighter Luke Keeler to improve to 29-0 with 18 KOs.

However, one of the biggest “knocks” on Andrade is that he’s not exciting enough to sell on a big stage. On that point, he only has two knockouts in his last six fights against “so-so competition.”

An interestingly, he signed on with Hearn and Matchroom in hopes of being able to get those bigger fights, but almost two years later, that is not materialized. One such fight disintegrated beyond Andrade’s control, when unbeaten Brit Billy Joe Saunders flunked a drug test prior to their proposed battle in 2018.

Now, Saunders appears to have further self-destructed his own opportunity to fight Canelo and gotten himself suspended Monday by the British Boxing Board of control for joking about domestic violence on a social media app over the weekend.

Still, it looks like Alvarez and Golovkin will point towards fighting each other, when boxing resumes and already have a September date, most likely in Las Vegas, to battle for the third time.

And then there’s, Al Haymon, who runs Premier Boxing Champions, and won’t likely have either of his marketable middleweight fighters, Jermall or Jermell Charlo, fight Andrade. That’s because, he’s a rival promotion and PBC does not acknowledge the World Boxing Organization, as legitimate. And, that’s the belt Andrade has and tries to use for leverage for his title fights.

For now, Andrade must do what all other fighters worldwide are having to do: and that’s find a way to train, stay in shape and hope that if boxing does get back in the ring this summer, that he will in short order have a significant battle coming up. And, the guy who was interviewing him, Hearn, has to deliver that battle for him, too.