Middleweight king believes activity will be the key ahead of first defense

Demetrius Andrade believes being active will bring the best out of him as he prepares to defend his WBO World Middleweight title against Artur Akavov at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York on Friday night, live on DAZN in the US and Sky Sports in the UK.

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Andrade (26-0 16KOs) puts the crown on the line for the first time since claiming the vacant belt in Boston in October, flooring number two ranked Walter Kautondokwa four times en-route to a comprehensive points win.

The Rhode Island ace is back in action against the dangerous Russian Akavov (19-2 8KOs) 90 days after that win – the quickest turn around in fights for the 30 year old since the spring of 2012 and his 16th and 17th fights.

‘Boo Boo’ is thrilled with promoter Eddie Hearn for getting him back into action so soon and feels activity will make him an even better champion in the talent-rich 160lbs division.

“It feels great to be out so soon – it’s the first time that has happened to me for so long,” said Andrade. “It used to be eight months or once a year, so it just goes to show the difference between the levels of promoters that you go with.

“Eddie is keeping me active and he knows that the more active I am the better the fighter I am. Eddie wants to make a statement, show people that the way it’s done in the UK is how it should be done in the US, he’s young and I am too – we have the same hunger, he wants to be the top promoter and I want to be the top fighter. Knowing I can be one of the leading fighters on DAZN and they are doing a great job all around.

“I had the shitty end of the stick for a long time but I can always see the bigger picture. If I look to quit through that, I can’t inspire or motivate others. I’m undefeated, 2008 Olympian, and everyone has their time and obstacles to get over.

“I’m still clearing my path now, everything good in my way stays and everything bad has got to be moved. I’m happy to be back in so fast, I could have had a tune-up fight or even two and not signed up to fight Billy Joe Saunders for the title, but I have been in the game too long and it’s my time to shine now so I am not going to stop.

“I’m not satisfied. I’ve always been at the top but now I’m growing in the top of the mainstream. The boxing world knows I’m the baddest man out there but not having the right promotion behind me putting me out there has hurt me and that’s why I’ve made the changes and Matchroom and DAZN know what I can bring and they can move me to the next level – my job is to win.”

Andrade’s clash with Akavov is part of a huge triple-header of World title action at Madison Square Garden, as TJ Doheny defends his IBF World Super-Bantamweight title against Japan’s Ryohei Takahashi.

A third World title bout on the card sees Amanda Serrano (35-1-1 26KOs) gunning for history as she looks to land World honors in an extraordinary seventh weight class as she meets WBC and IBF World Super-Flyweight champion Eva Voraberger (24-5 11KOs) – the Austrian tasked with stopping Serrano’s bid for glory.

Former World Lightweight ruler Jorge Linares continues his comeback trail on the card when he meets Pablo Cesar Cano. Linares’ (45-4 28KOs) reign as WBA and Ring Magazine champion was ended in an epic clash with pound-for-pound star Vasily Lomachenko at Madison Square Garden in May, with Linares felling the Ukrainian star in the sixth before being stopped four rounds later.

Linares returned to winning ways in September with a third round stoppage win over Abner Cotto in September in California and starts 2019 with his 50th pro fight against Cano (31-7-1 21KOs), the Mexican former World title challenger who landed the WBC International Silver strap in his last outing in September – and Linares is joined by fellow Golden Boy Boxing star Alexis Rocha (12-0 8KOs), the 21 year old Welterweight talent ready to begin his charge for titles in 2019.

Long Island favorite and former World ruler Chris Algieri (22-3 8KOs) steps up his pursuit of regaining his World champion status at Super-Lightweight as he faces fellow New Yorker Danny Gonzalez (17-1-1 7KOs), One of Matchroom Boxing USA’s rising stars tastes his first action in 2019 on the card as Reshat Mati (2-0 1KO) returns to the scene of his last outing in October where the ‘Albanian Bear’ went the four round distance in his second fight.

Tickets for January 18 are on sale now priced from $46 (including booking fee) – tickets are available from www.MSG.com

The fight that many people in boxing didn’t think would happen is now a reality: Billy Joe Saunders will defend his WBO middleweight title against former junior middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade in the fall.

The respective promoters, Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn, came to an agreement Wednesday just before a purse bid for the fight was set to take place.

Hearn told ESPN that the fight “looks like” it will occur Oct. 20 on the East Coast, since Andrade is from Rhode Island. Hearn originally earmarked that date for an event in Los Angeles. Saunders, from England, would be fighting in the U.S. for the first time.

A purse bid was scheduled for 5 p.m. ET Wednesday but was canceled when the WBO was informed Warren and Hearn had reached an agreement. The two rival promoters from England rarely conduct an event together, so the expectation was the fight would put up for bid, in which Saunders would receive 70 percent of the highest bid.

http://www.sportingnews.com/us/boxing/news/billy-joe-saunders-vs-demetrius-andrade-fight-wbo-middleweight-title-dazn-matchroom-boxing/1nbhb23ngle6k1db4ltjnjfk03

looking-for-mayweatherWhile he’s the WBO junior middleweight champion, Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade aspires to a much bigger goal. He hopes to take on one of boxing’s all-time greats in Floyd Mayweather Jr., who this past weekend pocketed $32 million in beating Marcos Maidana. Andrade is in Jacksonville working with his massage therapist while he continues training for a title defense June 14 on HBO.  John Sudbrink/The Daily News –

By Rick Scoppe-

Six years after returning from the Olympics without a medal following a disputed quarterfinal loss in Beijing, Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade is 20-0 as a professional and the World Boxing Organization junior middleweight champion.

To some, that might seem a rapid ascent.

But if the 26-year-old southpaw has his way, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

While his first title defense against WBO top-rated mandatory challenger Brian “The Lion” Rose (25-1, 7KOs) is scheduled for June 14 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on HBO, Andrade has bigger aspirations – much bigger aspirations.

His eyes, not to mention his “mind, body and soul,” are on the prize, which is none other than to face one of the sports’ all-time greats, 37-year-old Floyd Mayweather Jr., the nine-time, five-division world champion who beat Marcos Maidana on Saturday night in a majority decision for the 46th victory in his career that is without a blemish.

As soon as the fight was finished there were those calling for a rematch, but if Andrade has his way he’ll be next to step into the ring against Mayweather, who earned $32 million for his latest victory.

“I’m just ready to get in there, whup the lion (Rose) and tame him; he’s going to be my little cub and I’m going for the big shot,” Andrade said. “I do want Mayweather. There’s nobody out there for me other than him.”

First, however, Andrade, must beat Rose. To do that, Andrade said he’s working hard in training camp, which for the past week has been in Jacksonville, where he came to see his massage therapist, Lori-Ann Gallant-Heilboran, whom he first worked with during the 2008 Olympics. Along with working with her, Andrade has been working out both in town as well as aboard Camp Lejeune.

“We’re just bracing ourselves for whatever we have to do on fight night. That brought us up here,” Andrade said during an interview at The Daily News office. “We’re doing everything we need to do.”

Andrade, who was born in Providence, R.I., and now lives in Atlanta, won the WBO title in November, claiming a 12-round, split-decision over 2004 U.S. Olympian Vanes “Nightmare” Martirosyan (33-1-1, 21 KOs) on Nov. 11.

Andrade said Martirosyan “kind of ran the whole night,” and some observers questioned the judge who scored the bout for Martirosyan. Nonetheless, Andrade won the title and now faces Rose as the co-main event at the 18,103-seat Barclays Center.

“Winning the title is just the beginning, the first part of being a superstar or being one of the greats,” Andrade said. “Anybody can win on any given night a title. It’s about what you’re going to do afterwards, if you can hold onto it for longevity, and that’s what I plan on doing. We’re working extremely hard and smarter and doing everything we need to do to overcome whatever comes our way.”

Starting with Rose, a bout Andrade predicted won’t go the distance. Then, he hopes and dreams, it’s on to Mayweather.

“When I win June 14th…, I would call Mayweather out. But I can’t rely on that guy. He pretty much is self-made and picks his opponent and is going to go whatever’s going to generate the most income. Can I blame him for that? No. He’s already did everything in the sport he needed to do. But if he wants to go against somebody that’s undefeated, going to give him an arduous time in that ring, that’s me,” Andrade said.

“I’m ready if he wants to do it. If not, all I can do, and all I told my supporters and my believers and myself, is I will carry the torch when his time is up.”

Mayweather has three fights left on a lucrative six-fight contract, which leaves him room to fight Andrade – if he decides to. Does Andrade believe that one night he’ll slip through the ropes to take on Mayweather?

“It’s hard to tell. Can it happen? Maybe. It’s 50-50 chance. It’s up in the air,” he said. “I’m undefeated with a belt. There’s nobody else in the 154 weight class that’s undefeated, that’s long, that’s slick and that will give him a difficult time, and people want to see it. I know I haven’t been fighting a long time like him. … But now that I’m the WBO (champ) the light’s starting to come toward my way I can be able to call out top guys now. It’s up to them to take the fight.”

And make no mistake about it, if he beats Rose next month, Andrade will stand up on HBO and proclaim he wants Mayweather.

“I will be shouting him out,” he said. “I don’t see anybody else in the 154 division other than me to get in the ring with him, but there are fighters at 147 he can fight also. It’s on him. He can do whatever he wants to do. My job is to keep on winning, give the fans what they want so they can keep shouting my name. If it doesn’t happen, I’m going to be the one that carries that torch and gives excitement and be the next greatness of boxing.”

http://www.jdnews.com/sports/local/wbo-champ-andrade-wants-shot-at-mayweather-1.316325

Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade born February 26, 1988 in Providence, Rhode Island is a professional boxer from the United States. He won the 2007 world championships as an amateur, then made his professional debut on October 23, 2008. Demetrius represented the United States in the 2008 Olympics. He is trained by David Keefe and his father, Paul Andrade.
A Providence native of Cape Verdean descent, southpaw Andrade began boxing in 1994 at the age of 6. His nickname is “Boo Boo” and he currently competes in the Junior Middleweight division.
Andrade won the United States Amateur Boxing Championship in 2005, and repeated it in 2006 when he also won the National Golden Gloves. He again won the National Golden Gloves in 2007, but did not compete in the U.S. Amateurs that year due to injury.
Andrade initially struggled at the international level, losing to Eastern European opponents at the World Cup in 2005 and 2006. However, he won the silver medal at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, losing controversially in the gold medal match to Brazilian hometown favorite Pedro Lima by a narrow 7-6 margin.
He won Gold at the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships, where he beat Kakhaber Zhvania, Dmitrijs Sostaks, 2005 silver medalist Magomed Nurutdinov, future champion Jack Culcay-Keth, Adem Kılıçcı in the semifinal round, and then Non Boonjumnong of Thailand in the finals, a match in which Andrade inflicted a standing eight count upon Boonjumnong and was leading by a score of 11-3 in the second round when Boonjumnong retired with an injury to his right arm.
At the Olympic trials he defeated hard-punching Keith Thurman 27:13
At the Olympics he beat Kakhaber Zhvania and the highly regarded Russian Andrey Balanov14:3 but was shocked by Korean veteran Kim Jung-Joo 9:11
Professional career
Following the disappointment of not gaining a medal at the Olympics Andrade then turned professional and had his first pro fight in October 2008, which he won at Northern Quest Casino, Airway Heights, Washington beating Patrick Cape by second round knockout. He went on to win a TKO over Eric Marriott before making his Friday Night Fights debut against Tom Joseph on March 6 with a 1st round TKO victory then only 2 weeks later a second round KO win against Arnulfo Javier Romero. On June 19, 2009 he won the unanimous decision against Tony Hirsch. And another KO against Chad Greenleaf in the second round. He is also a member of Team Fight to Walk, which supports America’s first clinical stem cell trial, along with other notable fighters such as Boyd Melson, Shawn Estrada, Steve Cunningham, Denis Douglin and Deandre Latimore