Here’s a new update on the “Demetrius Andrade to super middleweight” news that broke earlier this week. The WBO has officially ordered a pair of interim title fights: Andrade vs. Zach Parker at super middleweight and Janibek Alimkhanuly vs. Esquiva Falcao at middleweight.
All parties have 10 days to come to terms and avoid purse bids, which feature minimum offers of $300,000 and $200,000, respectively.
Both Parker (22-0, 16 KO) and Alimkhanuly (11-0, 7 KO) had been guaranteed shots at the title. Parker stopped Rohan Murdock in an eliminator nearly two years ago, while the WBO named #2 Alimkhanuly their mandatory middleweight challenger in November due to #1 Jaime Munguia pursuing a WBC eliminator instead.
They’ll have to content themselves with secondary titles, though. Per Jake Donovan, Andrade (31-0, 19 KO) won’t have to vacate his middleweight belt to face Parker. Instead, the decision to stay at 168 or return to 160 to face a mandatory will come afterwards.
In comes #3 Falcao (29-0, 20 KO), last seen edging out Patrice Volny by technical decision in a November eliminator. Both he and Alimkhanuly are Olympic veterans; Falcao took silver in 2012, while “Qazaq Style” fell to future gold medalist Arlen Lopez in 2016.