Ring Roll Call: Former WBO Champion Demetrius Andrade

Demetrius Andrade On The Verge Of Sliding Into Obscurity

Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade (31-0, 19 KOs) has become one of the more polarizing fighters in the sport. Fans either respect or are annoyed by him, with no room in between. However, heading into 2023, things are trending in an even worse direction for the former WBO middleweight champion.

Just over a year go, Andrade capped off 2021 with a dominating stoppage victory over Jason Quigley. At the beginning of 2022, the 33-year-old from Providence, Rhode Island was quite optimistic. He was the reigning WBO middleweight champ and felt that this was the year he would finally land the high-profile, big money fights he has been desperate to get throughout his career. That was far from the case.

HOW THINGS WENT SO WRONG?

In May 2022, Boo Boo was to face Zach Parker for the WBO interim belt at 168. The theory was that a win over Parker would put Andrade in line for a fight with the current undisputed champion, Canelo Alvarez. Unfortunately, he had to withdraw from the bout with Parker due to a should injury. From there, things went from bad to worse.

Andrade parted ways with the promotional company Matchroom and has been out of action since. There was another attempt to make the fight with Parker. However, Andrade refused to move forward with negotiations. Then he decided to vacate the WBO 160-pound title. Fans and pundits are scratching their heads. There is a lot of confusion as to what Andrade is doing career-wise.

There are multiple issues at play here. One, the big names at 160 and 168 have not shown a great interest in fighting him. His other problem is that he’s never been a great draw or a money-maker for promoters.

NOW OR NEVER

The two-division world champ is back in the gym. Boo Boo has also expressed an interest in facing ex-IBF super middleweight champ Caleb Plant in the future. But when is Andrade fighting again? As of this writing, there has been no word on his next fight. All that is known is whenever he fights again, it will be at super middleweight.

But given his age and periods of inactivity during his career, his future is up in the air. If he has plans of doing anything significant moving forward, it has to start next year. At this point, Andrade is in danger of becoming the Mr. Irrelevant of boxing.

By: Michael Wilson Jr.

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