By Dan Ambrose: WBO junior middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade (21-0, 14 KO’s) is hoping that former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez or Erislandy Lara (19-2-2, 12 KO’s) will step up to face him now that the two fighters have settled their differences in their recent bouts.
Andrade wants Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya to match Canelo up against him next. Andrade will put his WBO 154 pound title on the line so that the 24-year-old Canelo will have a chance to capture the belt if that’s what he wants.
Andrade doesn’t care. He just wants a chance to prove what he can do against Canelo by getting him in the ring. But if De La Hoya decides he doesn’t want to risk Canelo’s scalp by matching him against the taller 6’1” Andrade, then Andrade is still willing to fight Lara if he’s game.
De La Hoya isn’t saying who he plans on putting in the ring with Canelo for his next fight in November, but Andrade’s name hasn’t been mentioned by him as of yet. De La Hoya said James Kirkland is one of the guys that he’d like to match Canelo up against, as would Miguel Cotto. Kirkland isn’t fighting on a regular basis anymore, and he’s got a shaky chin. He’s also very easy to hit, and that obviously is playing a part in De La Hoya’s interest in matching Canelo up against him.
This is like Alfredo Angulo part 2 for Canelo. Kirkland is slow, and he’ll stand directly in front of Canelo the entire fight to let him get his shots off. Andrade is someone that will use his boxing skills to make Canelo miss and pay for his missed shots.
Andrade is likely going to be bypassed by Canelo and De La Hoya this time around, because it looks as if De La Hoya wants to get a sure thing win for Canelo for this fight. Canelo’s obviously had three bad experiences – Austin Trout, Floyd Mayweather Jr and Erislandy Lara – and De La Hoya will put him back in with the kinds of guys that he does well against – slow and stationary like Kirkland rather than risk having him get beaten again.
You can make an argument that Canelo has 3 losses his resume now from the Trout, Lara and Mayweather fight. It’s 4 if you count Canelo’s controversial draw against Jorge Juarez in 2006. I had Canelo losing that fight 3 rounds to 1.
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