By Ian S Palmer
WBO Junior Middleweight king Demetrius Andrade of the U.S. steps back into the ring to face challenger Brian Rose of England at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York this Saturday June 14. All of the action can be caught on HBO in Canada and the U.S. while British fans can see the 12-round bout on BoxNation. This is Andrade’s first defense of the title he won by beating Vanes Martirosyan by split decision last November. Andrade’s got an awkward southpaw boxing style which makes him a hard target to land solidly against while Rose comes into the fight on an 11-bout winning streak.
The 29-year-old challenger from Blackpool, Lancashire, is the British Champion and enters the ring with a mark of 25-1-1, his only loss being a 2010 stoppage by Max Maxwell. He doesn’t possess much in the way of power and has just seven Kos to his name. The 26-year-old Andrade has a perfect record of 20-0 with 13 Kos and at 6-foot-1 has an inch advantage in height. Andrade, who hails from Providence, Rhode Island, is a former 2008 U.S. Olympian who has boxed 86 rounds as a pro compared to 192 rounds by Rose. The last time the challenger stepped into the ring was October of 2013 when he beat Javier Francisco Maciel by a 12-round split decision.
Andrade’s an accomplished boxer, but he’s not one of the most exciting around while Rose also has decent skills, but lacks one-punch knockout power even though he does own a 12th-round TKO over former world champion Joachim Alcine. This is a mandatory defense for Andrade and it’ll be Rose’s first fight outside of Britain. While Andrade’s a world champion, he hasn’t been tested by a Grade A pro as of yet, and he won’t be on Saturday since Rose is more or less a Grade B opponent. His most recognizable opponents up to now have been Alcine and Vivian Harris, who he also stopped in the third round back in 2012.
Fans should expect this to be more of a chess match than an action fight with both boxers utilizing their skills to rack up points. Andrade will be looking to establish his jab and keep Rose at a distance while initiating the action. Rose should be looking to get on the inside if possible and try to rough the champion up. It’s not going to be easy beating Andrade by points, but Rose doesn’t really have much of an option unless he can land his heaviest blows squarely on the champion’s untested jaw and hopes he doesn’t have much of a chin.
Rose is undoubtedly a tough fighter and should have a lot of motivation fighting for a world title and in America for the first time and he shouldn’t be written off even though the odds are against him.
Prediction
Andrade’s effective right jab will be the key here as he will use it to keep Rose on the outside. The champion’s tough to land against due to his mobility and head movement and this could frustrate the challenger. Don’t expect this to be a candidate for fight-of-the-year, but it should be interesting for boxing purists. This is likely to go the distance with Andrade taking it by a comfortable unanimous decision.
