By David Carrero: On November 25th, David Benavidez will face Demetrius Andrade on Showtime PPV.
Benavidez, the current WBC interim super middleweight champion, is widely viewed as being the division’s top challenger to undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. 27-0 with 23 knockouts, Benavidez has an aggressive, crowd-pleasing style and generally seeks to break down and stop his opponents inside the distance.
32-0 with 19 knockouts, Demetrius Andrade is a two-division world champion who, prior to turning professional, represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Like Benavidez, Andrade has for years been seeking an opportunity to face top-tier competition. For Andrade, long-sought bouts with fighters including Gennady Golovkin, Jermell Charlo, Jermall Charlo, and Canelo Alvarez have not yet materialized.
David Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade currently find themselves at a similar point in their careers. Both are eager to prove themselves against the sport’s best. Both feel they have to some extent been avoided throughout their careers by other top fighters. Both men have had difficulty securing big fights despite performances consistently demonstrating that they each belong among the sport’s elite. Both men, despite their efforts to secure the biggest fights possible, have received criticism for not having faced top-level competition.
The best option for both men currently, it seems, is to face each other. The winner of this fight will likely emerge as a clear frontrunner to face Canelo Alvarez in the near future for the undisputed super middleweight championship.
Those backing Benavidez to defeat Andrade appear to believe Benavidez’s size, power, and punch output will be too much for Andrade, who began his pro career at junior middleweight and transitioned recently from middleweight to super middleweight. Those picking Andrade to win seemingly believe his skills, power, and ring IQ make him unlike any of Benavidez’s prior opponents.
Predictions aside, this is an excellent match-up and an interesting contrast of styles. David Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade are each fighters who have stated publicly for years that they are eager to prove themselves against the best. The willingness of these two fighters to put it all on the line and face each other is commendable, and this promises to be a great fight.
Notably, it has also been confirmed that the undercard will feature the return of Jermall Charlo against Jose Benavidez Jr.