By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten Demetrius Andrade and fellow American Willie Nelson will be meeting in a 12-round junior welterweight bout this Saturday, June 11th at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York. The fight can be seen live in the U.S. on the Showtime network while fans in the UK can catch the action on Sky Sports. Andrade last fought back in October when he stopped Darian Fabian Pucheta in the second round. Nelson’s last outing was in March and he beat Jonathan Batista by a second-round KO.
The 28-year-old Andrade of Providence, Rhode Island enters the ring with a perfect record of 22-0 along with 15 Kos. He’s a southpaw who stands 6-feet-1-inch tall and has an unlisted reach. He’s got quite a bit of talent and has stepped up the class of opposition recently. His biggest win was against Vanes Martirosyan back in 2013 by split decision to win the WBO title. He then defended it against Brian Rose by seventh-round stoppage the next year, but gave up the belt a few months later as he wouldn’t take on mandatory challenger Jermell Charlo. Andrade then sat out several few months with promotional problems.
Andrade turned pro back in 2008 and has fought 95 rounds since then and also has wins over veterans Grady Brewer, Freddy Hernandez and Saul Duran. He’s got good boxing skills, but isn’t the most exciting fighter out there even though he’s got better than average power. His current knockout ratio stands at 68 per cent. This will just be Andrade’s second outing in about two years and he needs to be more active if he hopes to land another world title shot. He also needs to face some stiffer opposition starting with his next fight if he can get past Nelson on Saturday.
The 29-year-old Nelson of Cleveland, Ohio has a record of 25-2-1 with 15 Kos to his name. He’s won nine and lost one of his last 10 bouts. He’s got good size for the 154 lb. division as he stands 6-foot-3 and has a wingspan of 75.5 inches. His first loss came against Vincent Arroyo via an eight-round majority decision back in 2011 and he was dropped three times in the contest. He was also beaten by Martirosyan in 2014 by a 10-round unanimous decision. His best wins have been against Yudel Jhonson, John Jackson, Tony Harrison, Michael Medina, Darryl Cunningham, Luis Grajeda and Luciano Cuello. He also fought to a six-round draw with Antonio Johnson in 2008.
Nelson turned pro back in 2006 and has 130 rounds under his belt since then. He’s got pretty good power with his current knockout ratio being 54 per cent. He’ll be taking a step back up in class with Andrade and needs to beat him if he’s serious about becoming a world champion. Nelson has played the role of spoiler before, but he hasn’t really met anybody as good as Andrade up to now.
Prediction…
Nelson has the size advantage and is a difficult man to beat, but Andrade is a former world champ who may have a bit more skill-wise. Nelson needs to use his advantages to dictate the pace. Both boxers should have their moments and this could come down to a rather close decision. If it does, look for Andrade to eke it out.
