Beating his competition with ease and holding onto a world title did nothing to land Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade the big fight he wanted. So, with the sand in his hourglass slowly whittling away, the 35-year-old decided to drop his middleweight title in the nearest trash bin he could find and move up in weight.
Taking on bigger men didn’t seem sagacious, but Andrade believed that he didn’t have much of a choice. After successfully getting his feet wet by scoring a win over Demond Nicholson in his super middleweight debut, Andrade jumped right into the fire with easily the best fighter he’s ever taken on, David Benavidez.
Following three strong rounds, everything fell apart for Andrade in the fourth. He was dropped during the frame and thoroughly dominated until things were mercifully called off in the sixth.
Andre Rozier, a renowned trainer who’s been in the corner of Andrade since the beginning, doesn’t want to see his talented fighter enter the ring against another super middleweight. Instead, he instructed his man to move back down to 160 pounds.
For supporters of Andrade, trepidation is beginning to set in. The former Olympian hasn’t officially fought in the middleweight division since late 2021 and seemed to enjoy the reprieve that eight extra pounds provided him. Still, for those who are skeptical of Andrade's middleweight effectiveness, Rozier recently placed their minds at ease.
“Not at all,” Rozier told krikya360.com when asked if getting down in weight will be an issue for Andrade. “Change nutrition programs, work a little bit harder on the road. He’ll be there.”
As long as everything goes according to plan on the scales, Andrade (32-1, 19 KOs) will have a ton of options at his disposal. Of course, Rozier wouldn’t mind a warm-up fight or two for his fighter to get readjusted but more than anything, he wants Andrade to be thrown into the championship fire.
Currently, Janibek Alimkhanuly, Erislandy Lara, and Jermall Charlo are in possession of all of the middleweight hardware. Carlos Adames though, also holds the WBC interim title and could be elevated to full champion if Charlo opts to move up, something he’s hinted at recently.
Rozier doesn’t have anyone particular in mind, as long as some sort of world title is wrapped around your waist, you’re officially on the mind of team Andrade.
At the moment, Alimkhanuly is associated with Bob Arum’s Top Rank, making a showdown with him incredibly difficult to come about. Lara is likely to take on Danny Garcia, and Charlo is ostensibly on the move to Andrade’s now former division.
Adames, by and large, is the more likely option. The 29-year-old Dominican is on a five fight win streak since his unexpected loss at the hands of Patrick Teixeira in 2019. All in all, the interim titleholder is a fighter who impresses Rozier. From his tenacity to his propensity for soaking his gloves in the blood of his opponents, he’s essentially the full package. However, in a matchup against Andrade, Rozier is convinced that the former two-division champ would take him down with ease.
“He’s strong, he’s tough, he’s resilient but I think that Boo Boo is too articulate in the ring to be caused problems by somebody like Adames.”