Demetrius Andrade is coming to “whoop” WBC interim super middleweight champion David Benavidez and expose him in their twelve round headliner on November 25th on Showtime PPV at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
Most would agree that Benavidez is on borrowed time campaigning at 168, and he looked like he’d been through months of starvation, making weight for his last fight against Caleb Plant.
Few boxing fans are giving the former two-division world champion Andrade a chance in this fight, but he could have a few tricks up his sleeves to defeat the still largely inexperienced Benavidez, who is surprisingly still fighting in the 168-lb division after a decade.
Andrade has been avoided his entire fifteen-year career by the top dogs, and he has everything to gain in this fight. The fighter who has something to lose is Benavidez because he’s been killing himself for the last five years, trying to get a fight against Canelo Alvarez.
If ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez gets beaten by Andrade in a little over two weeks from now, all that time that he invested in trying to share the ring with Canelo will be down the drain forever.
Ultimately, that might be a good thing because Benavidez could give up his chase and move up to 175 to go after champions Artur Beterbiev & Dmitry Bivol. It won’t work for Benavidez to try to be a career weight bully at 168 because his body is already letting him know that he needs to move up to 175, where he belongs.
Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) has been training with just his offense in mind, loading up on every shot, expecting the slick southpaw Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) to be stationary like most of the 27 opponents he’s faced during his ten-year professional career.
The approach by the 26-year-old Benavidez and his team towards this fight is all wrong, as if they’ve been preparing for a flat-footed opponent instead of a mover like Andrade. Benavidez could find out the hard way that he got it wrong.
Andrade to shut down Benavidez
“There’s no other choice but to win. This is a great fight. It shuts everything down. There’s nothing to say,” said Demetrius Andrade to Brian Campbell’s YouTube channel about his fight with David Benavidez.
“I moved up to 168 because, at 160, no one was willing to do it. I never thought it would be David Benavidez because he seemed like a big boy. Now we’re here. He’s avoided, I’m avoided,” said Andrade.
It won’t be the end for Andrade if he loses to Benavidez because he’s still capable of sticking around to capture a belt once he’s forced to move up to 175, which is where belongs.
Andrade had been avoided his entire career, and he was forced to move up to 168 because it dawned on him that he was rotting away at 160 with no big names to fight. If he’d stayed at middleweight, the best he could hope for is a fight against Janibek Alimkhanuly, a one-dimensional pot-shot fighter with stamina issues.
“No one wants to do it. I’ve always been the one that’s always done it. I did it in my amateur career,” said Andrade. “I tried to do it as a professional, but it didn’t work out. They saw what type of talent I am.
“If you put the very best talent in front of me, I’m going to be my very best. I’m going to elevate. At this point, fighters don’t want to fight, but I’m glad David wants to. It only makes sense to fight me versus other people. That’s risky with no reward in the sense that it’s not that well of a name.
“I’m not Caleb Plant. There’s a lot of sayings out there about how we fight alike. There’s a little bit of boxing, but we don’t fight like each other. I’m getting up, too. I’m excited. I get to get up and let my Demetrius’ A-game out,” said Andrade.
Many boxing fans have compared Andrade to the former IBF super middleweight champion Caleb ‘Sweethands’ Plant, but they’re nothing alike. Plant can’t punch and has the stamina of a six round fighter, so he gassed out against Benavidez, Canelo, and Jose Uzcategui.
Demetrius coming to dish out punishment
“If somebody is trying to take my head off, I’m going to be in shape and stay on my job,” said Demetrius. “It’s like two cats fighting each other now, not cat & mouse. When the moment happens, we will be tangling, and I’m going to show that I’m a man too.
“This man has a lot more tools to use, but I will show that I can get in your game too and secure the victory. Fireworks will be happening that day. I’m prepared to get hit. I’m going to do the hitting, and I’m prepared not to get hit,” said Andrade.
“I’m not here to criticize him. I’m here to whoop his a**, of course. I’m here to fight. I’m here to get the W. We all know what he brings. We all don’t know the best Andrade, but you guys are going to see it. We’re going to do it on November 25th because I have no other options; I have no other choice but to give it all,” said Andrade.
Trash-talking isn’t needed for Andrade in this fight because fans are already interested in seeing them square off without the need to throw out insults. Besides, Andrade has never been one to criticize his opponents because he’s more of the type that likes to joke around and have fun during the build-up to his fights.
“In every fight. I’m not fighting guys that are coming to get a paycheck. I’m fighting real tough, strong guys that are looking to make a living and change their life around. Vanes Martirosyan was a great fight. I got knocked down in the first round and had to do what I had to do to win that fight.
“I was supposed to fight Billy Joe [Saunders], and he got caught doing the banned stuff. I had to fight Walter Kautondokwa [for the vacant WBO middleweight title in October 2018], and he was 6’3”. He was a light heavyweight coming down to 160. He was strong, big, tall, and he hit hard.
“Maciej Sulecki, who gave Danny Jacobs a hard time, we put his a** down too, and we cruised for the victory. Liam Williams, he was a tank. I was hitting him with bricks and shoves and all types of s**t. He was like, ‘I want more. I want more,’ but his a** went down too,” said Andrade.
Demetrius’ resume is horrible, and it’s sad that he’s fought largely no one during his long career, thanks to the top fighters avoiding him. He’s fought lesser fighters that were more fringe level, but he’s done what he had to get the victories over these guys.
“Every fight was a learning lesson, but it was lackluster too because they’re coming to fight. The motivation isn’t the same for me when I’m fighting somebody that’s like, ‘Let’s get it on.’ Those fights end up being a little tougher, a little more showmanship, but this fight right here will put it all together,” said Andrade.
Demetrius admits that it’s been difficult for him to get motivated against the ham & eggers that he’s fought, but he’s done a great job. It’s good that he’s finally facing someone that he’s eager to face, taking on Benavidez in a fight that could potentially get him a shot against Canelo. Dan Ambrose doesn’t think Canelo will want anything to do with Andrade if he’s victorious, but there’s always a chance.
