By Dan Ambrose: Demetrius Andrade believes his fight with WBC interim super middleweight champion David Benavidez will prove who the #1 fighter is in the 168-lb division when they meet in November.
That’s not a knock on Canelo Alvarez, but more of an indication of how good Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) and Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) are compared to him and the rest of the division.
It’ll be interesting to see if Benavidez can make weight for the Andrade fight because he looked terrible, cutting down to 168 for his last contest against Caleb Plant.
The loss of weight seemed to take a lot out of Benavidez’s power game and made his fight with Plant a lot harder than it would have been if he’d fought him several years ago.
Before you can rightfully call the Benavidez-Andrade winner the #1 guy at 168, they’ll need to face David Morrell Jr. because he looks like the real deal.
If Benavidez had accepted the talented Cuban’s recent call-out, we could eliminate one of the two in the competition to prove who the #1 guy is at 168. But surprisingly, Beenavidez chose not to fight Morrell and forfeited in a way.
You can’t include Canelo in the mix because he’s been avoiding the killers at 168, picking easier fights against Jermell Charlo, John Ryder, and maybe Terence Crawford. Hope
Canelo should be stripped of all four of his 168-lb belts if he continues to pick out fighters from outside the super middleweight division after his title defense against Jermell on September 30th.
It seems pretty clear that Canelo will cherry-pick all three of his fights on his PBC three-fight contract without fighting anyone from the 168-lb division and then possibly retire.
Benavidez-Andrade proves #1
“It would have to be Canelo next. This right here is going to tell you who the best 168 fighter is,” said Demetrius Andrade to Fight Hub TV about his November clash with WBC interim super middleweight champion David Benavidez.
Will fans view the Benavidez vs. Andrade winner as #1 at 168? No, probably not, because many of them will still see Canelo as the #1 guy and give a pass for his failure to fight his main competition at super middleweight.
“You’re not going to know who’s #1 until we fight. We’re going to see what it is, hopefully, come November when me and David Benavidez go at it,” Andrade continued about his fight with Benavidez.
“I think Showtime will want to make that fight,” said Demetrius when asked if it will be even more difficult for him to get a fight against Canelo Alvarez if he defeats Benavidez.
“He [Canelo] has a three-fight deal [with Showtime]. Terence threw a monkey wrench into the situation because it seemed like he was trying to fight all the right guys. ‘Both Charlos? Maybe not. Let’s throw out Spence. My three fights are done. Retire, bro.”
Canelo’s expected three fights with PBC:
1. Jermell Charlo
2. rematch
3. Terence Crawford
It’s virtually guaranteed that the Benavidez vs. Andrade winner will be ignored by Canelo, who is fighting whoever he wants at this point, similar to how WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is facing anyone but the opposition the fans want him to fight. It’s a product of being young & rich.
“Listen, boxing is not easy. He [Canelo]] did it. If you don’t fight me, cool,” said Andrade. “If you don’t fight David [Benavidez], it doesn’t matter. He did his job and became successful in many ways, in the ring and outside the ring.
“My hat goes off to him, and that’s it. He [Canelo] definitely needs to fix his language when he sees me like, ‘Horrible fighter,'” said Demetrius talking about Canelo’s remark that he made to him.
Andrade motivated for Benavidez fight
“I’m definitely going into that fight with full force. Spiritually, mentally, physically,” said Andrade about the Benavidez contest. “It’s not going to be an easy fight. That’s all I’m saying.
“I came over here [Showtime & PBC] to make these fights happen. I’m 100% confident in myself. This is the type of situation I’ve been waiting for a long time to give me that nitrogen to get me to want to train harder and get prepared.
“I didn’t have those types of fights. This type of situation. It’s time to get going,” said Andrade about his big fight with Benavidez. “We’re going to war. This is my opportunity to put my legacy. My time is now.”
