By Kenneth Friedman: Demetrius Andrade will be moving up 168 to take on unbeaten Dusty Hernandez-Harrison in a 10-round fight on November 27th on the undercard of Daniel Jacobs vs. Gabe Rosado on DAZN. The fight will be taking place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Dusty, 26, is a stay busy fight for Andrade and not an upgrade from the lesser opposition he’s been facing most of his 12-year pro career.
Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs) plans on getting a little experience at super middleweight before potentially making a move up to that weight class in 2021.
Andrade wants a big fight in 2021
Demetrius, 32, wants to get a big fight next year against WBO super-middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders, Callum Smith, or Canelo Alvarez. Andrade’s goal is to become a three-division world champion in 2021 by dethroning one of the four belt-holders in that weight class.
With Andrade being promoted by Matchroom Boxing, the same promotional company that Callum and Saunders are both with, it shouldn’t be a problem for him to get a crack at a world title next year.
Saunders already had a chance to fight Andrade a year ago, but the match never materialized. It’s questionable whether Saunders even wants any part of Demetrius. In that case, Andrade may need to focus on trying to fight Callum Smith.
Demetrius will reportedly be moving back down to 160 early next year to defend his WBO middleweight title against his mandatory Liam Williams. It’s an odd move for Demetrius to be doubling back to fight Williams.
Rather than facing second-tier super middleweight Hernandez-Harrison (34-0-1, 20 KOs), Andrade should be fighting Williams in December and then moving up in weight in early 2021. Andrade is doing it seems to a backward move and not something that will help him in the long run.
Andrade vs. Liam Williams planned for 2021
Liam Williams (23-2-1, 18 KOs) called Andrade out recently following his first-round stoppage win over Andrew Robinson on October 10th. Williams said he would be potentially available to fight by December.
This will be the second fight this year for Andrade after scoring a
a ninth-round knockout in a voluntary defense on January 30th against Luke Keller.
“This is a vital night for Demetrius to both stay active and see how he feels up at Super-Middleweight,” said Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn.
“Demetrius is after those massive fights at both 160lbs and 168lbs and 2021 promises to be a huge year for him, but he cannot take Dusty lightly, as those big plans go out of the window on a night where Harrison can take his career to new heights.”
Without Hearn or the World Boxing Organization’s help, Andrade’s chances of getting a fight against Saunders or Callum Smith aren’t so good. He may not get a chance to fight either of them if they’re unwilling to take on the tricky southpaw.
Will Demetrius get a title shot at 168 in 2021?
Interestingly, Hearn isn’t singling out any of the future opponents for Andrade to fight the way most promoters would. Does Hearn believe he can get Andrade the fights he needs to take his career to the next level? Thus far, Andrade hasn’t done anything since signing with him.
When Andrade signed with Matchroom over a year ago, he was excited about the big fights he would get with them. That’s failed to happen.
Since inking with Matchroom, this is all he has to show for himself: Maciej Sulecki and Luke Keller. Those are the type of opposition that Andrade was fighting before he signed with them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyyrYmaOE8k
If he’s not being put in compelling fights, we’ll have to see if Matchroom renews his contract when it expires. Heavyweight Michael Hunter wasn’t put in with any big fights either when he was Matchroom unless you count Alexander Povetkin as a big fight. After that match, his contract wasn’t renewed.
Why isn’t Andrade fighting Jermall Charlo?
“Demetrius Andrade called out many people in the middleweight division, including Jermall Charlo. Who would win a fight between Charlo and Demetrius Andrade?” asked Chris Mannix of DAZN.
“I got to go with Charlo,” said Sergio Mora in picking Charlo to beat Andrade. “What he did to Sergiy Derevyanchenko; he beat down a fighter that went the distance with GGG and went the distance with Daniel Jacobs, and here we have Charlo dominating and punishing Derevyanchenko.
“I got to say Charlo. This time last year, I would have said Andrade, but now everything is rolling on Charlo’s side.”
“I honestly think it’s a coinflip type of fight,” said Mannix in a fight between Charlo and Andrade. “Charlo has proven himself against better competition at 154 pounds, and as you mention, Derevyanchenko at 160.
Andrade has the best skills of anyone in the middleweight division, but he is the most untested of the fighters in the middleweight division.
“He hasn’t even had a Derevyanchenko level fight to test his skills against. So I think it’s a coinflip type of fight at this point, but I don’t even care. I don’t care who wins, and I don’t care who loses. I need to see this fight.
There is no money out there for any real fights. I don’t know if there’s any money on the table for Charlo and Andrade that was on the table six or eight months ago. But a big pot of money is available.
“Charlo can fight Andrade for five or six million dollars. Andrade can fight Charlo for three, four, or five million dollars. What am I missing here? Why is that money not scooped up by these fighters and this fight happening?”
Jermall and Andrade don’t need to take risky fights
“Because they’re not on a writer’s budget. They’re making millions of dollars,” said Mora in explaining why Charlo and Andrade aren’t fighting. “Yes, they’re going to make seven million dollars, and it’s champion vs. champion.
It’s an excellent match, and they’re both undefeated, and they’re both great champions. But they’re making really great money fighting the Dennis Hogans and the Luke Keller’s of the world. Why are they going t face each other right now? It’s a business decision.
“You ask me as a fighter. We want longevity, and sure we want respect, and sure, we want the belt. But we also want to make as much money in the short amount of time as possible, and that’s what they’re doing.”
“You’re Jermall Charlo, and you’re not being asked to fight Edger Berlanga,” said Mannix. “A big super middleweight, who could potentially hurt you if he if he’s as good as people think he is. You’re being asked to fight Demetrius Andrade.
“The worst possible outcome for Jermall Charlo against Demetrius Andrade is he’s outpointed. You’re not going to get hurt against Andrade.
“You might get outpointed, and you might lose, but that’s pretty much it. Is that not a risk worth taking for that paycheck and the prize, a second time, becoming the only unified title-holder in the middleweight division? Is that prize not worth it?”
“You’re acting like Andrade can’t punch,” said Mora. “He’s knocked down all his last opponents in all his last fights. In the Walter Kautondokwa fight, he knocked him down four or five times.
“He has the power, but he doesn’t have the mindset to go after the kill. He doesn’t go after the knockout. He’s satisfied with the knockdown and going the distance.
Does Andrade have the power to stop Charlo?
“If he can’t take you out early, he’s not going to put himself at risk to get hurt himself. You’re not giving Andrade enough credit on the power. He’s got the skills, the talent, the pedigree, and enough power to get Charlo’s respect.”
“You’re not going to sit there and tell me that Demetrius Andrade is Gennady Golovkin light,” said Mannix. “Knocking down Walter Kautondokwa, Maciej Sulecki, and Luke Keeler is not the same thing as knocking down a fighter the caliber of a Jermall Charlo.
“It’s not the same thing, and you know. A lot of guys get knockdowns against lesser fighters. Demetrius Andrade’s best assets are his skills, not his power. I don’t think he’s a real threat to cause any real damage physically to Jermall Charlo.”
“Look, we’re not going to find out until they fight, but yeah, Charlo has that big power, he has the technique, and he also has the skills,” said Mora. “But you’re just telling me that Andrade doesn’t have the power. He has enough power to get anyone’s respect.”