Andrade to take center stage?
Some fights are critical in advancing a fighter’s career. Demetrius Andrade’s (27-0, 17KOs) match with Maciej Sulecki is essential to position himself for a major title in the middleweight division. This fight with Maciej Sulecki (28-1, 11KOs) should be a coming out party for the WBO champion.
Both fighters have looked a little shaky in their recent performances, are relatively new to the middleweight division, and are looking to get a money fight against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez or Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. As far as styles go, all of the tangibles point in favor of the champion, Demetrius Andrade.
Demetrius Andrade
First off, Andrade is an elite boxing athlete with great speed, balance, and length. The Rhode Island native is also a skilled technician. He has every tool you’d want in a fighter. He can fight inside, outside, and at medium range whenever needed. The only questions one could have about him are his durability and focus. Andrade was dropped in his first fight at 160lbs by Alantez Fox. He also looked shaky throughout that particular fight. Since then, Andrade has looked progressively better in each of his fights.
Maciej Sulecki
Next up, we have Maciej Sulecki, who has a pretty decent win-loss record. However, in his one fight against a top level fighter (Daniel Jacobs), he was clearly lacking. Sulecki is coming off of a difficult bout against Gabe Rosado, where he was nearly stopped. The Polish native, while having a great deal of heart, is a middling talent. Not blessed with great speed or reflexes, he primarily gets by on grit and work rate. Sulecki, overall, is a competent, no-frills fighter.
Prediction
As far as predictions go, there’s not much to say. This is an opponent Andrade should be able to beat. The real question is whether can he put on a sensational performance. If Andrade were to whitewash or knockout Sulecki, he paves the way for an Alvarez or GGG fight. More likely Golovkin, because Canelo and his camp seem focused elsewhere. They’ve already stated they’d wait until 2020 to look at a Golovkin trilogy. My official prediction is look for Andrade to win in a performance where he struggles more than expected.
By: Corey Cunningham
