By Dan Ambrose: In a set of mismatches on ESPN2 on Friday night, undefeated junior middleweight contender Demetrius Andrade (14-0, 9 KO’s) had an easy time out-pointing 40-year-old Grady Brewer (28-13, 16 KO’s) by a dull 10 round unanimous decision at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana.
In the other big fight – if you want to call it that – on the card, lightweight contender Henry Lundy (21-1-1, 11 KO’s) stopped 35-year-old former WBC lightweight champion David Diaz (36-4-1, 17 KO’s) in the 6th round of a scheduled 10 round bout. Both fights saw some uneven performances from both the winners. Andrade fought a safety first fight mainly using his jab, while Lundy just looked weak, hittable and vulnerable to big shots.
There’s not a lot to say about the Andrade fight, because all he did for the most part was glide around the ring throwing jabs and looking to not get hit. He looked like a weak, slower, less aggressive version of Andre Dirrell, but not as good on defense as Dirrell.
In the first few rounds, the southpaw Andrade was willing to throw a few left hands and combinations. However, eating a couple of single right hands from the 40-year-old Brewer in the 4th, Andrade played it safe for the remainder of the fight throwing almost nothing but jabs. The crowd hated it and there was some booing that started and continued at times for the remainder of the fight.
Other than a brief bit of action in the 10th when Brewer decided to rush Andrade and tag him with a few hard shots, it was mostly Andrade dominating with his jab. He did what he had to do but it’s hard to see Andrade becoming a star by fighting like this. He’s going to have to take more chances if he wants to ensure that his fights keep getting shown on television in the future. He can’t just go out there and throw jabs all night long and expect to win fans and have his bouts televised. It was painful to watch him. He doesn’t throw enough power punches and champions like Saul Alvarez and Miguel Cotto would give him major problems. You can’t beat guys with power just with a jab. Andrade is going to have to reinvent himself to get to another level.
As for the Lundy-Diaz fight, Lundy stopped a bloody Diaz with a left hand in the 6th. By then, Diaz had been cut over his right eye and his face was a mask of blood. The ringside doctor was keeping a close eye on it at the time and the fight was already in danger of being stopped. Diaz dropped Lundy in the 4th round with a hard right hand, and flurried him for the remainder of the round. To his credit, Lundy stayed on his feet but it wasn’t a good sign that he’s getting knocked down by an old guy like Diaz. Lundy dominated the action in rounds 1, 2, 3, and 5. He thew a lot of jabs that looked more like backhands and single shots. When he would throw combinations, he’d square himself to Diaz and leave himself vulnerable.
All in all, I wasn’t at all impressed with Lundy. No power, poor defense, poor speed and just very, very average. I can’t see this guy ever winning a major title.
I also wasn’t impressed with Andrade. He reminds me of Paul Williams but without the workrate. No power, timid, reluctant to throw combinations or power shots, and just plain boring. He can possibly win one of the paper titles in my view, but I can’t see him holding down a title for long because he just doesn’t have any offense.
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