As of late, Demetrius Andrade has spent far too much time sequestered on the sidelines. Since defending his WBO middleweight crown against Jason Quigley, the former multi-divisional champion has nursed a bothersome shoulder injury.
While the 34-year-old will officially return to the ring on January 7th, when he takes on Demond Nicholson, Andrade (31-0, 19 KOs) was given several opportunities to make a more expedited return.
Initially, the bombastic former champ starred down the barrel of an unappealing mandatory showdown against Janibek Alimkhanuly. Yet, with what appeared to be several lucrative opportunities awaiting him in the super middleweight division, Andrade decided against taking Alimkhanuly up on his fight offer.
All along, an intriguing 168-pound showdown against England’s Zach Parker was ostensibly on the verge of taking place next. However, due to a paltry payday, Andrade moved steadily in another direction.
Although he failed to enter the ring at all in 2022, Andrade is confident that his unique skillset will bring a jam-packed crowd at the Capital One Arena, in Washington D.C. to its feet come January 7th.
“I’m definitely looking to put on a show,” said Andrade to a group of reporters recently. “Skills, the power of course, and later on in the rounds, of course a stoppage.”
In the case of the 29-year-old Nicholson, a win against Andrade would do wonders to wipe away the stench that has followed him throughout most of his career. While viewed as respectable, the Maryland native has failed on the biggest of stages.
On April 24th, 2021, the longtime journeymen attempted to use Edgar Berlanga as a springboard of sorts. But, as the two swapped fists in the center of the ring, the up-and-coming star proved to be too much for Nicholson to handle.
Since having the fourth defeat of his career saddled to his record, Nicholson (26-4-1, 22 KOs) has found the winning formula he’s been looking for, scoring three consecutive victories, the latest coming against Christopher Brooker.
Still, even with Nicholson finding his groove, Andrade views him as a relatively tenuous challenger. While he would love nothing more than to become a fan favorite, as long as everything goes according to plan, Andrade would have no issue with collecting his check after dishing out a lopsided beating.
“You can’t stop everybody in this game but a beatdown is what I’m looking to get.”