By Dan Ambrose: Demetrius Andrade says he thinks he can wear down and stop WBC interim super middleweight champion David Benavidez in their fight on November 25th in their Canelo sweepstakes clash on Showtime pay-per-view.
Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) says Benavidez is a “Big boy,” so he’s going to need to land a lot of shots on him over the course of their fight to get him out of there, but he believes he’s capable of scoring the knockout to put himself in the pole position to challenge undisputed 168-lb champion Canelo Alvarez for his four belts next year.
As far as whether Demetrius will actually get the fight with Canelo, he’s not confident about that happening. Andrade thinks that there’s a possibility that Canelo will cherry-pick a 147-pounder in 2024 rather than face him, which would obviously be Terence Crawford, and if not him, it could be Errol Spence.
Like a lot of fighters now, Canelo is focusing on the business side at this stage of his career, emphasizing money fights that provide the least amount of risk. Hence, you see him fighting Jermell Charlo, John Ryder, 41-year-old Gennadiy Golovkin, Caleb Plant, Billy Joe Saunders, and Avni Yildirim.
With the type of opposition that Canelo is fighting, he could become a billionaire within the next seven years and retire as one of the super-rich. To accumulate that kind of wealth, it’s important that Canelo NOT fight guys like Benavidez or Andrade because they could spoil things.
Andrade needs a gimmick to help him get to the Canelo level of wealth. With Canelo, he’s got the red hair thing going for him and a nation that follows his fights. Demetrius needs something to set him apart so that the boxing public in the U.S. and other parts of the world want to follow him.
Obviously, Andrade’s advanced age is working against him in achieving the kind of money that Canelo has made in the sport, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t still make a ton of dough before he retires.
Defeating Benavidez would be a good start for Andrade, but he’s still likely to be frozen out by Canelo for the reasons mentioned. He’ll likely need to take a page out of Canelo’s playbook by hand, pick smaller fighters to take advantage of and mix in unbeatable guys from the 175-lb division.
Brian Custer: “You already heard that they plan on stopping you. His father. When you think about this fight, do you see this fight going the distance?” said Custer on his Youtube channel.
Demetrius Andrade: “I definitely feel that I can hit him with shots where I can probably put him out, for sure, and it will do damage, and I think he will be surprised by the type of power and movement that I have where he could take his time more and it could go the distance. He’s a big kid, so I have to wear him down.”
Custer: “So, will they be calling you the ‘Monster Slayer,’ or will you have a new nickname after this?”
Andrade: “Oh yeah, for sure. Right now, it’s the ‘Boogeyman’ vs. ‘The Monster.'”
Custer: “What style would you bring to a Canelo fight that hasn’t been working in the past for other guys?”
Andrade: “My style is different. I’ve got sharp punches, I’ve got looping punches, I’ve got design punches for everything in every angle. I can’t really tell Canelo or the people so much because I might have to use it if it ever happens. I have to use these things.”
Custer: “Do you feel big fights are behind you at this point, or are there big fights in the future?”
Andrade: “How I look at it, this is definitely a big fight. [Jermall] Charlo is a big fight, [Caleb] Plant is a big fight, and Canelo is a big fight. Those fights are still able to happen after this fight. So, yeah.”
Custer: “Do you think Canelo should take the winner of this fight?”
Andrade: “Of course, if he is ‘The King.”
Custer: “If he doesn’t, who do you see him fighting?”
Andrade: “Somebody small, out of his weight class, so he can say, ‘This Canelo, nobody beats this Canelo. I’m 168 lbs, and he’s 147 lbs, 140 lbs. He can come up. Nobody beats this Canelo.'”
Custer: “What’s a realistic fight for you next? David Morrell, Jermall Charlo, or Canelo Alvarez?”
Andrade: “It would have to be Charlo or Canelo.”
Custer: “Do you get to eat anything over Thanksgiving weekend? I mean, Turkey, greens, mac, cheese, anything like that?”
Andrade: “I eat that today.”
Custer: “You’re fighting over Thanksgiving weekend [November 25th]. The weigh-in is on Friday.”
Andrade: “My Thanksgiving dinner is going to be David Benavidez. I got some seasoning, and I’m cooking up some s**t, man.”
Custer: “Will you eat turkey, greens, and all that stuff that weekend?”
Andrade: “I’m not really like a turkey guy. I have my things, greens, of course. I might have a little meal. The weigh-in is the next day, but I’m slipping something real quick. An avocado.”
