Demetrius ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade’s trainer Andre Rozier says WBC interim super middleweight champion David Benavidez and his fans will be in for a big surprise come November 25th when they discover how powerful he is.
(Photo credit: Victor Ren/Showtime).
Rozier sees the unbeaten Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) as being doomed to a “horrible” night against the talented former two-division world champion Andrade in their headliner on Showtime PPV at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
Rozier feels that people are unaware of how big of a puncher Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs), as they haven’t followed his career and failed to notice the numerous guys he’s knocked out. When he hasn’t knocked them out, he’s often dropped them and had them on the brink of being stopped.
Benavidez’s wreckless, sloppy style will be taken advantage of by the 2008 Olympian Andrade, who would never think to fight in such a primitive manner.
One can argue that the main reason why Benavidez has gotten away with his archaic style is because:
- He’s a fighter competing out of his natural weight class of light heavyweight. When 175-pounder or bigger fighting at 168, you can afford to be ultra-aggressive like Benavidez
- High volume output
- Power
- Weak opposition
When you’re padding your record against fighters like David Lemieux, Caleb Plant, Ronald Ellis, and Kyrone Davis, you can afford to fight the way Benavidez does with his ancient 1950s, unrefined style.
You can’t fight like that against a guy with Andrade’s amateur pedigree, as he’s like a professor in the sport going up against a pupil with rudimentary skills who enjoyed success by late-night cramming or using cheat notes.
Benavidez will have “horrible night”
“Two undefeated boogeymen going at it. This is going to be a spectacular fight. I’m a big fan of Benavidez, but, of course, I’m a bigger fan of my nephew, Demetrius ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade,” said trainer Andre Rozier to Fight Hub TV, talking about the Benavidez-Andrade fight on November 25th on Showtime PPV.
“He has the acronym, the articulation, the intelligence, the speed, and the maneuverability,” Rozier continued about Andrade. “He has all the facets to give David a horrible night in the office, and that’s what’s going to happen.”
Without Benavidez drastically changing his fighting style by November 25th, the slick, hard-hitting southpaw Andrade could take him to school and make him look bad.
Many boxing fans will be upset with Benavidez’s defeat because he’s thought to be the guy who will take the baton from the Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez when he walks away from the sport.
Benavidez is the fighter that people have pegged as the next star, even though he’s not faced anyone of quality to earn that distinction.
A loss to Andrade would spoil everything, ruining all the years that Benavidez’s promoters have carefully groomed him by matching him against the right guys to make him look like a killer.
Andrade has the power to stop anyone
“I don’t know why they’re saying that because ‘Boo Boo’ can get you out of there,” said Andre when told that this fight is being called ‘The boxer [Andrade] vs. the puncher [Benavidez].’ “A lot of time, he’s in motion, boxing, doing his thing, but he can really get you out of there, and if he has to, he will.
“A lot of people are going to be surprised on November 25th, really surprised. I’m looking forward to Las Vegas so much. Mandalay Bay, we are coming. It’s going to be havoc in the house, and Andrade will stake his claim to be the next one to box against Canelo, and he’s going to show his greatness,” said Rozier.
Benavidez will need to cut off the ring on Andrade, because he’s going to be moving a lot, lancing him with shots, and making it near-impossible for him to connect.
Andrade’s defense and mobility will make it difficult for Benavidez to take advantage of his power, size, work rate & youth. Like many slow-footed knockout artists, Benavidez needs his opponents to stand perfectly still so he can get his shots off.
Demetrius isn’t going to oblige by standing in one place like a dummy, asking to be crushed by the massive-sized fighter. He’s going to stay on the move and pick him off.
No bitterness
“Yes, it has been, but we’ve kind of put it behind us because now is the time,” said Rozier when asked about his thoughts on Andrade being avoided all these years by the top fighters. “We can’t think about ‘I lost my girlfriend. I can’t go to the prom. I can’t go to the wedding. I can’t go anywhere.’
“No, we have to get ready. It’s here. We don’t worry about yesterday. That’s the past, and we’re moving on to the future,” said Rozier.
It’s good that Andrade & Rozier don’t feel bitter about having been avoided by so many fighters during the last fifteen years in the pro ranks, considering that many fighters would if they were in the same shoes.
Benavidez & his dad, Jose Sr, complain night & day about how Canelo won’t fight them and timesome listen to their moaning.
“He did what he had to do. He was a marauder; he was a monster; he set a precedent; he kept him on the move, he attacked when he wanted to, and he had his moments where he was just lethal,” said Rozier about Canelo Alvarez’s performance against Jermell Charlo.
“A knockout didn’t come, but if you’re going to judge a book by ‘I’m being outclassed,’ that’s what happened.
“I love TC, I love him to death. TC needs to take care of 47 & 54. Don’t worry about 68. Leave it alone. Leave the big men alone,” said Rozier when asked about his thoughts on Terence Crawford calling out Canelo.
“Weight classes do count. The only places where they don’t count is BKB and in the streets. They count here. Do not, I repeat, do not consider, unless you just want to make that money, the Canelo fight. It’s not going to be good.
“If Billy Joe gets back on track and becomes the Billy Joe that I know,” said Rozier when asked if he’d be interested in a fight between Andrade and former two-division world champion Billy Joe Saunders.
