By Jim Maltzman: Demetrius Andrade (29-0, 18 K.O.s) wants to get a shot at Canelo Alvarez or Jermall Charlo before they both abandon the 160-pound entirely.
Canelo (53-1-2, 36 K.O.s) already holds the WBA secondary super middleweight strap after beating Rocky Fielding in December 2018.
WBO 160-pound champion Andrade (29-0, 18 K.O.s) wants to take part in a unification fight at middleweight, be it against Canelo or Charlo.
Andrade, 32, doesn’t feel that he has to beat anyone like Jermall (30-0, 22 K.O.s) for him to earn the fight against Canelo, considering that Rocky Fielding didn’t have to beat anyone for him to get a battle against the Mexican star.
Canelo hand-picked Fielding even though the British fighter had a thin resume filled with wins over no-name opposition.
Andrade says if Canelo chooses not to fight him, then he’ll continue to beat everyone put in front of him until he has no other choice but to face him.
That might work better for the 2008 U.S. Olympian Andrade if he follows Canelo up to 168 because he’s not going to be able to fight the right guys at 160 to force him into the match.
Saunders getting Canelo fight as Fielding did
“Billy Joe getting the opportunity is just like Kovalev getting the opportunity and Rocky Fielding getting the opportunity,” said Andrade to A.B. Boxing News on Saunders being hand-picked by Canelo Alvarez rather than facing him. “That’s not my business.
“People say, ‘How are you going to beat Andre Ward?’ I’d beat him with my jab, and beat him with my I.Q. And I got way more speed than him; my feet work better than him. He’s not going to touch me. That’s how I’m going to beat him. If Andre Ward wants to get back in the ring, I’ll fight Andre Ward.
“I will fight Andre Ward if he wants to get back in the ring. I’ll fight Andy Ruiz. That’s people that I would fight in different weight classes. I’m not scared to lose, and I’m not scared to get a draw. If I lose, I don’t care. I’m still willing to fight these guys. I’m not trying to fight guys that I can only beat.
“That’s the problem with these people. They only fight people that they can beat. If I can’t beat Andre Ward, so be it. I’m still willing to fight him. I guarantee you that’s going to be a hell of a fight. I’m not scared to get in there with Andre Ward. If he beats me up, he beats me up,” said Andrade.
Canelo has taken a lot of flak for him choosing to face WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders instead of the tougher outs like David Benavidez, Callum Smith, and Caleb Plant at 168. However, Benavidez and Plant both fight on Fox Sports, while Canelo’s matches are shown DAZN. It’s a lot easier for Canelo to fight Saunders because he’s with DAZN as well.
Andrade wants Canelo or Jermall Charlo
“I can only control myself. Whatever they are going to do, they are going to do,” said Andrade. “I’m just going to keep winning like I’ve been doing. My job is to beat everyone from top #1 to #10.
“Once I do that, I’ll be eliminating a lot of guys. Where else are you running to? Who are you waiting for? Cinco de Mayo, 2022? Let’s do it. I’m going to be retired pretty soon. I can’t do this my whole life.
“If they’re willing to put Canelo vs. Demetrius Andrade or Charlo, put it on a piece of paper,” said Andrade when told that Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Robert Diaz is interested in big fights.
Right now, Andrade would appear to be frozen out by Canelo and Charlo. If Andrade wants to face both guys, he has no choice but to follow them up to super middleweight in hopes of forcing a fight with them.
Unfortunately, there’s still no guarantee that Canelo and Charlo will ever fight Andrade. But in moving up, Andrade will at least be able to get a shot at the WBO 168-pound belt, which is currently held by Saunders. If Canelo captures the WBO strap from him, he’ll probably vacate it if Andrade moves up in eight to try and face him.
The only drawback to Canelo fighting Saunders is American boxing fans have no interest in that fight. Saunders has an ugly spoiling fighting style, and he can’t punch.
Beating Charlo doesn’t mean Andrade will get Canelo
“Put it on the dotted line that me and Charlo are going to fight with the winner facing Canelo,” said Andrade. “But don’t sit there and say I have to fight Charlo to get Canelo. I don’t like that s*** because I can name Rocky Fielding.
“What did Rocky Fielding do to get that fight [against Canelo? Kovalev is a higher level guy on his way out. Okay, Canelo did that. Whoop-di-doo. Would Canelo have fought him [Kovalev] five years ago?
“Do you know what I mean? I don’t like to play that game because we’ve been playing that game all his [Canelo] career. They say I don’t fight nobody, but the people I’m trying to fight don’t want to fight me,” said Andrade in pointing out that Canelo, Gennadiy Golovkin and Jermall Charlo haven’t shown interest in facing him,” said Andrade.
Ideally, Andrade should be able to get a fight against Canelo if he beats Jermall Charlo, but it probably won’t end that way. If anything, a win for Andrade may push Canelo further away, especially if he looks impressive in beating him. As Andre Ward says, Canelo is “calculated” with the way he chooses his opponents.
Canelo’s win over Jacobs was based on timing
“I fight whoever they put in front of me,” said Andrade. “I’m not fighting anybody like Steve Rolls,” said Andrade in taking a shot at Golovkin, who fought Rolls in 2019. None of the guys I’ve fought have been like Steve Rolls.
“The guys I’ve been fighting have been in their prime, hungry and trying to take my head off. Steve Rolls wasn’t trying to take anybody’s head off, and Rocky Fielding wasn’t trying to take anybody’s head off. Derevyanchenko was a good step up,” said Andrade in talking about Golovkin’s last opponent, who he arguably lost to last October.
“Danny Jacobs was a good step up, but it’s all about timing. Is Danny Jacobs on his way out? Is he older now, and does he have what he used to have? He fought [Julio Cesar] Chavez, and that was a little bumpy,” said Andrade.
It’s evident that Canelo took advantage of a fading Daniel Jacobs to beat him last year. The weight clause further hurt Jacobs, who had been struggling to make the 160-pound limit for some years. Canelo didn’t fight a prime Jacobs from 2011, which is when he was at his best.
Golovkin seems to be taking a page out of Canelo’s playbook in choosing weaker opposition at this point in his career. GGG wants the Canelo, but he’s not doing much to earn it by taking on acceptable opposition.
Canelo had the opportunity to fight Andrade in 2019
“I’m trying to fight Canelo,” said Andrade. “You signed for a great deal [with DAZN]. What are you losing? It’s not even about Canelo. I’ll fight Charlo. Offer me $7 million. I’ll take that. Mikey Garcia took that to fight Jessie Vargas. Even Mikey Garcia knows that’s a lot of money. He isn’t no fool.
“It’s eventually going to lead this way. I just heard the news of Charlo going up to 168,” said Andrade. “WBC, what’s up. Let’s get it popping, unification. We tried that with Charlo. I just want to let you know that a unification means a lot.
“Canelo and I had the opportunity to fight each other to be the undisputed champion in the middleweight division. He chose to go fight Kovalev, which that’s his decision. I understand the business. But yeah, anyone that’s willing to unify at 160, let’s make it happen. Anybody, let’s make it happen,” said Andrade.
Canelo was an opportunist in facing WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev last November after he’d begun shown severe signs of deterioration. It would have been a lot tougher fight for Canelo if he fought Kovalev back in 2011 when he was still in his 20s—waiting until Kovalev was 36 before fighting him stacked the deck in Canelo’s favor.
Jermall can face Andrade at 168
“If he feels he wants to make it happen at 168, then try and make it happen,” said Andrade on Jermall Charlo, talking of moving up to 168 to challenge WBC champion David Benavidez. “Do your best,” said Andrade about Jermall potentially moving up to super-middleweight to challenge WBC champion, David Benavidez.
Instead of talking about fighting Jermall Charlo at super middleweight, Andrade needs to vacate his WBO 160-pound title and move up. Andrade should boxing fan that he’s for real in moving up and looking to start beating the top-level contenders.
Unlike Canelo, Charlo will be more willing to face Andrade if he gets ranked with the World Boxing Council at 168. However, Charlo shouldn’t assume that he’s going to beat WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez because he may not have the talent to do so. Benavidez is a rugged guy with heavy-hands, and he’s a lot younger than Charlo at 23.
Andrade willing to fight Andy Ruiz Jr. at heavyweight
“If that’s who I have to fight when the time comes, then it happens, it happens,” said Andrade about contender Liam Williams. “I hope he brings his best when that happens. I think I can beat Andy Ruiz. And I can beat that kid. Andy Ruiz, don’t train, don’t do anything.
“Let’s fight. Don’t train, and I can beat him. I didn’t say I would go from weight class to weight class. And I said I would do a Roy Jones [and move up to heavyweight]. I could beat Andy Ruiz at heavyweight. Usyk, I don’t know. That’s a tough fight.
“I didn’t say him. You did. I’m naming guys that I think I can beat. You’re like, ‘What about Deontay Wilder?’ Damn, man, I didn’t say that name. I didn’t say Deontay. I’m not trying to get hit with that s***, bro. I said, Andy Ruiz,” said Andrade.
It’s hard to take Andrade seriously when he talks about wanting to fight the former heavyweight champion, Andy Ruiz. That fight is NEVER going to happen. Even when Andrade talks of wanting to fight Andre Ward, that’s magical thinking. Andrade is wasting his time dreaming about Ward coming out of retirement to face him of all people.
Andrade has beaten some decent opponents during his 12-year professional career, but none of the big names. He’s called out virtually all the top 154 and 160-pound fighters without luck. You can’t blame Andrade’s lackluster resume on him not being interested in facing the best.
