Demetrius Andrade vs Zach Parker Wiped from Slate by WBO
After a five-year tenure serving in the middleweight division, WBO 160-pound champion Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade (31-0, 19 KO’s) was ready for a change. The Rhode Island native had grown weary of not securing the matches he wanted and sought to try his hand at super middleweight. Initially Andrade was going to face the challenge of Zach Parker (22-0, 16 KO’s). The two had signed off on a bout and were slated to collide on May 21. Well, that was until Boo Boo suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to withdraw from training.
When the injury was first revealed, the plan of action was simply to push the match back. Now that plan has been scrapped. While attempting to stay abreast of their champion’s health status, the WBO requested to know when he would be fit enough for action. Upon hearing that it would take four months or more before Andrade could ply his brutal trade, the sanctioning body nullified the bout all together. As a result, Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotion, who won the purse bid, was refunded a bit over $360,000.
NOW WHAT?!
Obviously, this latest ruling now casts both fighters’ immediate futures back into ambiguity. There is little doubt that Andrade will still aim to move up in his next bout. There is the chance that he may still face Parker in his first prizefight there. It’s common knowledge that the bout that Boo Boo would most enjoy is against undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Yet, that is a showdown he has chased for nearly ten years. Said to say, nothing has happened to suggest that the bot will materialize now.
It will be interesting to see what Parker does at this point as he is injury free and remains #1 (WBO). Ideally, he would parlay this whole situation into another significant duel. The UK bruiser might want to try to secure a dustup with #1 (WBC) and #2 (WBO) David “Red Flag” Benavidez (25-0, 22 KO’s). Benavidez has a big name and has already held the WBC super middleweight title twice. If penned, Parker would still face very well-known opposition and could stage his first match in the US.
While Parker is certainly not the biggest name in the division, his #1 ranking could be used as a lure for Benavidez. If victorious, Red Flag would then hold two mandatory positions to face Canelo. This is something that he more than likely could be coerced with. First though, Benavidez would have to get past his May 21 assignment against David Lemieux. For the time being though, let’s just kick back and see how this plays out.
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By: Bakari Simpson
