Andrade Wants Jermall Charlo to Drop the Excuses and Fight
It’s been one full calendar year since two-division champion Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade’s (31-1, 19 KO’s) last match and he is aching for action. In that last contest, Boo Boo suffered his first professional defeat at the hands of David Benavidez. Now, if he had his way, Andrade would cash in on a long discussed duel with middleweight fighter Jermall “Hit Man” Charlo (33-0, 22 KO’s).
The two have had a long and well documented rivalry that, at one point, included his brother, Jermell Charlo. After Andrade withdrew from a fight with Jermell at the last minute, both brothers vowed to forever blacklist him. And for quite some time, this is exactly what they and the majority of the division decided to do. As time moved on however, the business made Andrade versus Charlo a fight too juicy to ignore. Sadly, despite there being talks about the duel coming together, it never actually has.
TAKE 2 PILLS AND CALL ME IN THE MORNING
Once again looking for a solid match-up, Andrade continues to be mystified as to why Charlo will not step up to the plate. To add more frustration to the situation, Boo Boo is particularly vexed by Hit Man’s insistence on using his mental health as a rationale for why he is not competing.
Andrade finds this particularly distasteful. He has admitted that he had a terrible year mentally and this greatly affected the outcome of his battle with Benavidez. Yet, his point being, even in the face of his adversity he still soldiered on with his profession. In a recent Q&A and with Fight Hub TV, Boo Boo gave more color to his thoughts on the matter.
“Come on Charlo, you can’t keep running around with this excuse about this whole mental shit year after year, fight after fight. You went and fought David’s brother on the undercard, who came up from 147 and gave you [ten] rounds at 168. And now you looking for another tune-up fight? I haven’t fought [since] that date, you haven’t fought – I don’t see what the problem is. I think that is a perfect fight right now!”
KEEP HOPE ALIVE
While mental health is a growing issue in the sport of boxing, Andrade does raise a good point. Is Charlo going to be able to wrestle with his demons and continue his career in a meaningful fashion? Or are we only going to get Charlo once a year in forgettable bouts that no one asked for? Ideally we will get to see Hit Man return to form then return to some more thrilling match-ups. Until then however, we will have to wait and see who, if anyone, is willing to sign on the dotted line with Demetrius Andrade next. Hopefully, someone will step up sooner rather than later.
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