By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten WBO Middleweight Champion Demetrius Andrade of Providence, Rhode Island takes on Artur Akavov of Russia in the first defence of his title this Friday, January 18th at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The 12 round bout can be seen live in North America on DAZN and fans in the UK can catch it on Sky Sports. Andrade won the vacant title in his last fight in October via a 12-round unanimous decision over Walter Kautondokwa. Akavov last fought in May when he beat Gonzalo Gaston Coria by a 10-round unanimous decision for the vacant WBO International Middleweight Title.
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 the WBO Middleweight Champ. He enters the ring with a perfect record of 26-0 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 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 was inactive for a year before winning the vacant title against Kautondokwa, but didn’t have any noticeable ring rust. Andrade turned pro back in 2008 and has fought 143 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 62 per cent, but he’s gone the distance in his last three fights. This will just be Andrade’s seventh 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.
Akavov’s 33 years old and is also a southpaw. He’s just over 5-feet-9-inches tall, but has an unlisted reach. He’ll be giving up close to four inches in height to the champion though. Akavov enters the fight with a record of 19-2 with 8 Kos. He’s not a heavy hitter and owns a current knockout ratio of 38 per cent. He’s the owner of a solid chin and hasn’t been stopped. Akavov’s first career defeat came at the hands of Oleg Liseev by way of an eight-round unanimous decision in 2012. He then dropped a 12-round decision to Billy Joe Saunders in December of 2016 in a shot at the WBO Middleweight Title.
Most of Akavov’s other opponents are unrecognizable to the average fan. However, he did beat Ivan Jukic for the vacant WBO European Middleweight belt in 2014. He defended it three times and then won the vacant WBF World Middleweight Title with a unanimous decision over Michael Mothmora in June, 2015. Akavov, who now calls Beverly Hills, California home, went 97-21 as an amateur and has boxed 123 rounds since turning pro in 2011.
Prediction…
No disrespect to Akavov, but fans are expecting Andrade to take on upper class opposition now he’s a world champion again. He’ll find Akavov to be a tough, durable opponent, but should be able to utilize his size advantage and boxing skills to keep him on the outside to hold onto his belt.
