By Ian S Palmer
The vacant WBO Middleweight Title is at stake at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts this Saturday, October 20th when unbeaten Demetrius Andrade of Providence, Rhode Island takes on undefeated Walter Kautondokwa of Namibia. The 12 round bout can be seen live on DAZN in North America and on Sky Sports in the UK. Andrade was scheduled to fight WBO Champ Billy Joe Saunders, but Saunders failed a drug test and had his title stripped by the WBO. Andrade last fought in October of 2017 when he beat Alantez Fox by 12-round unanimous decision. Kautondokwa was last in action in March when he stopped Billi Facundo Godoy in the fifth round as he defended his WBO African Middleweight Crown.
The 30-year-old Andrade was briefly the WBA Super Welterweight Champion in 2017 after beating Jack Culcay by unanimous decision and he’s now after the WBO version once again. He enters the ring with a perfect record of 25-0 along with 16 Kos. Andrade’s a southpaw who stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with a 73.5-inch reach. He’s got quite a bit of talent and has stepped up the class of opposition recently. His biggest wins have been against, Culcay, Willie Nelson and Vanes Martirosyan by split decision in 2013 to win the vacant WBO Super Welterweight Title.
Andrade then defended the WBO belt against Brian Rose by seventh-round stoppage the next year, but gave up the title a few months later when he wouldn’t take on mandatory challenger Jermell Charlo. Andrade then sat out several months with promotional problems. He’s also been inactive for the last year and could have some ring rust to fight through. Andrade turned pro back in 2008 and has fought 131 rounds since then and also has wins over veterans Grady Brewer, Freddy Hernandez and Saul Duran.
Andrade does possess some fine boxing skills, but he isn’t exactly the most exciting fighter out there even though he’s got better than average power. His current knockout ratio stands at 64 per cent, but he’s gone the distance in his last two fights. This will just be Andrade’s sixth outing since meeting Martirosyan in November of 2013 and he needs to be more active if he wants to make a name for himself on the world boxing scene. Andrade is a former 2008 U.S. Olympian and enjoyed an excellent amateur career.
Kautondokwa is 33 years old and plans on taking advantage at his unexpected shot at a world title. He enters the ring with a perfect record of 17-0 with 16 big Ko’s. His fists are obviously loaded with dynamite since he’s knocked out 94 per cent of his opponents. Kautondokwa turned pro back in 2013 and has 56 rounds under his belt since then. Both his height and reach are unlisted, so it’s hard to compare him against the size of Andrade. This will also be his first fight outside of Africa.
Andrade has been training for a bout with the light-hitting Saunders, so he could be in for a hard night against the power-punching Kautondokwa. Not much is known about Kautondokwa other than the fact that he’s basically the middleweight king of Africa and has knocked every opponent out other than Moabi Mothiba whom he met in a four-rounder in his pro debut.
Prediction…
Nobody really knows just how good Kautondokwa is so it’ll be interesting to find out on Saturday night. He obviously has a lot of power so has a puncher’s chance here. Andrade’s faced better opposition and is younger as well as a two-time world champ. I don’t know enough about Kautondokwa to back him, but wouldn’t be shocked if he wins. However, I think Andrade may be the best bet to take the vacant belt.
