WASHINGTON – Demond Nicholson didn’t hesitate when Showtime’s Brian Custer asked Thursday if his fight against Demetrius Andrade will go the distance Saturday night.

“No, sir,” Nicholson told Custer, who moderated their press conference at the Marriott Marquis.

Andrade immediately interjected.

“I guess Demond’s going down – early,” Andrade replied. “Demond goes down. Demond goes down.”

Nicholson wasn’t in the mood for jokes. Though a huge underdog against Andrade, Nicholson (26-4-1, 22 KOs) feels he has been disrespected throughout the buildup toward their 10-round super middleweight match on the Gervonta Davis-Hector Luis Garcia undercard Saturday night at Capital One Arena (Showtime Pay-Per-View; $74.99; 9 p.m. ET).

Hearing Andrade discuss potential higher-profile fights against Jermall Charlo, David Benavidez and Caleb Plant has annoyed Nicholson. He reminded Andrade and anyone that’s dismissing him that overlooking opponents in boxing is a dangerous game to play.

“He hasn’t been through me yet,” Nicholson said. “He hasn’t fought me yet. What about Charlo? He hasn’t fought Demond Nicholson yet. Forget Charlo. Sorry, I’m not talking to [Custer] like that, but I’m just saying. You know, this entire, little campaign or whatever they wanna say, they been talking about him fighting Charlo, Benavidez and [guys] like that, like he’s not fighting me first. He hasn’t even stepped in the ring with me yet. You know, I mean, so it’s kinda built-up anger that I got – not anger, but frustration that I been getting.

“You know, but it’s really disrespectful, you know, to speak down on a man like that, you know. This is boxing. You know what I mean? You’re never supposed to overlook the next man. You know what I mean? And they been – excuse my language – they been sh*ttin’ on me this entire time. You know? And I don’t appreciate it, so yeah, I mean what I say. You know, he’s saying words is words. Nah, f*** that. I mean exactly what I say. You know? And that’s just what it is.”

The 29-year-old Nicholson has won three straight fights since he became the first foe to take Brooklyn’s Edgar Berlanga (20-0, 16 KOs) the distance in an eight-round, unanimous-decision defeat in April 2021. Contender Jesse Hart and journeyman Lekan Byfield have beaten Nicholson by technical knockout, but the Laurel, Maryland native realizes that knocking off an undefeated former middleweight champion would change his life.

The 34-year-old Andrade (31-0, 19 KOs), of Providence, Rhode Island, will fight for the first time since he knocked out Ireland’s Jason Quigley (19-2, 14 KOs) in the second round of their November 2021 bout at SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. He has since given up the WBO middleweight title to pursue opportunities in the super middleweight division versus fighters affiliated with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions.

“He’s humble,” Nicholson said. “You know what I mean? I can’t be humble right now. There’s no time for humbleness, man. The whole, entire world is looking down on me. [They think] I’m a tune-up. But this is the first fight that I’ve been in where I’ve been a hundred-percent healthy. My skills is gonna come out and they’re gonna see, you know. You guys are gonna see. You know, I’m not trying to cut anybody off or nothing like that. You know, but you all will see. January 7th, my new life and career starts.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.