DEMETRIUS ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade is a victim of his own boxing qualities according to his next opponent – with the 33-year-old being forced to wait and hope for a crack at some of the biggest names in the sport.
The Rhode Island fighter faces Jason Quigley in November, with the Irish challenger acknowledging the middleweight champion is a ‘world-class fighter’ with a ‘unique fighting style’.
Andrade boasts a record of 30 wins and no losses, including 18 KOs, winning the WBO title by defeating Walter Kautondokwa in October 2018. The Covid pandemic has limited Andrade to four defences, and the Providence pugilist is keen to make up for lost time.
He has been looking to line up a big fight with the likes of Saul Canelo Alvarez or Gennadiy Golovkin, GGG, but he has been left hanging by some of the sport’s biggest stars, even attempting to gate-crash a post-fight press conference after Alvarez had beaten Billy Joe Saunders.
Quigley admits he is taking on one of the best in the division when the pair clash at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, just a two-hour drive from Andrade’s Rhode Island base.
“He’s a great champion. He has been very avoided in the fight game because of his ability, because of how good he is,” said Quigley, who has a record of 19 wins and one defeat. “Any of the other world champions out there have avoided him because it’s a big risk for them to take.
“He’s a two-weight world champion and I struggle to see how he hasn’t got the big fights. I think he deserves the fights with the likes of a Canelo or a Golovkin and he should have had them in his career.
“His best opportunity of having them is obviously when he has the world title and when he is the middleweight world champion,” said Quigley, before quickly adding, “but if he hasn’t got those opportunities yet, I can’t see him getting them in the future because I’m going to be in there to take that belt away from him. That’s my plan, that’s my game.”
The bookies have installed Andrade as hot favorite to retain his title, the home fighter trading as low as 1/16 (-1600) to win – bet $16 with betting promotions to get $17 back if Andrade wins. Quigley is a longshot at 7/1 to pull off a shock victory.
Andrade will be facing his third opponent in succession from across the Atlantic, beating British fighter Liam Williams and Irish challenger Luke Keeler in his last two fights. But it’s the big names Andrade wants to face in the ring, with the likes of Alvarez and GGG happy to make him wait for a chance.
Super middleweight Alvarez even said he has no intention of ever facing Andrade, labelling the American “a horrible fighter”. During an interview with Brian Custer on The Last Stand Podcast, the Mexican said: “I’m never going to fight with him. He hasn’t fought with anybody.”
Even the weight difference between the two hasn’t put off Andrade who completes at 160 pounds, one full weight class lower than Alvarez. ‘Boo Boo’ has made it clear that he is more than willing to step up to face off against Alvarez, a fight many in the sport would love to see.