By Jim Calfa: Demetrius Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) is ready to take on one of the big names in the 168-lb division after making his successful debut in the weight class last Saturday night, beating the always-tough Demond Nicholson (26-5-1, 22 KOs) by a two-knockdown, 10 round unanimous decision on Showtime pay-per-view at the Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C.
Andrade looked good for the most part, dealing with Nicholson’s simple fighting style but still taking some heavy shots. The scores were 100-88, 100-88, and 100-88.
Interestingly, after the fight, Andrade failed to call out Jermall Charlo, a fighter he’s been tirelessly beating a drum to face for months.
Thankfully, it appears Andrade has finally gotten a clue that there’s no interest on Charlo’s part, and he’s wasting his time begging him for a fight when it’s crystal clear that the inactive Texas native has no intentions of facing him in this lifetime.
Charlo seems to be waiting for Canelo Alvarez to throw him a bone, so he will not put that massive payday at risk by facing Demetrius and likely losing.
“The only way I can say I’m the best is by fighting the best,” said Demetrius Andrade after his win over Demond Nicholson.
“We’re going to look to see who’s available at 168 pounds. I’m just going to get stronger, sharper, and faster,” said Demetrius.
Realistic options for Andrade’s next fight:
- David Morrell
- Anthony Dirrell
- Daniel Jacobs
- Carlos Gongora
- Jesse Hart
- Christian Mbilli
- Gilberto Ramirez
- Craig Richards
- Dan Azeez
If Andrade is willing to increase his chances of getting an exciting opponent, he needs to look at fighting some of the 175-pounders like Gilberto Ramirez, Craig Richards, and Dan Azeez.
“I felt good; I can definitely tell the difference at the new weight,” said Andrade. “But the speed and combinations and using my IQ was the plan today, and that’s what we did. The weight was different.”
What was noticeable was that the 34-year-old former two-division world champion Demetrius wasn’t putting his shots together in a sustained effort until the tenth round, where he dropped Nicholson with a right hand to the head.
If Andrade threw more combinations in the fight instead of focusing on single punches, he could have gotten Nicholson out of there and impressed the boxing fans at ringside and home.
The objective in taking on a lower-level fighter like Nicholson is to impress and win over fans, but Andrade failed to let his hands go in the way he needed to accomplish that goal.
The southpaw Andrade admitted afterward that he felt the difference in the weight in moving up from 160, where he’d campaigned from 2018 before deciding that there were no opportunities for him, given the play-it-safe attitude from the top guys, who all are just looking for a big payday against Canelo Alvarez and have no interest in fighting quality opposition where they might get beat.