Demetrius ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade 31-0 (19) believes he will be a welcome addition to the super middleweight division after previously holding the WBO belt at junior middleweight and middleweight.
The 34-year-old southpaw from Providence, Rhode Island will face Demond Nicholson 26-4-1 (22) in his 168-pound debut on the undercard of the Showtime pay-per-view show at the Capital One Arena in Washington DC on Saturday night that is headline by the clash between WBA ‘regular’ lightweight titleholder Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis 27-0 (25) and Hector Luis Garcia 16-0 (10), who holds the WBA super featherweight title.
Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 58-2-2 (39) reigns supreme at super middleweight with the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF titles all in his possession. He can effectively pick and choose his future opponents and Andrade wants to be in that mix.
The Ring ranks David Benavidez 26-0 (23), Caleb Plant 22-1 (13), John Ryder 32-5 (18), David Morrell 8-0 (7) and Christian Mbilli 23-0 (20) at their top five contenders.
“I’m just bringing even more talent to a stacked division,” Andrade said. “We’re here to give the people what they’ve been looking for, including all of the big fights.
“The message I’m sending is that the best fighters need to fight each other. There’s nothing standing in the way anymore. It’s time for us to get in the ring and make it happen.
“Everyone says they’re coming to make a splash, but I prove it every single time when I step into the ring. I’m going to do what I always do and that’s win.”
The 29-year-old Nicholson from Laurel, Maryland, is hardly a household name and victory for Andrade is unlikely to land him a high-profile fight.
But Nicholson insists he is more than just an opponent and is not coming to roll over.
“My goal is to dominate and win whatever way possible. I’m shooting for the moon. It’s my time now,” Nicholson said.
“I can’t be humble right now. There’s no time for humbleness. Everyone is saying I’m a tune-up, but this is the first fight I’ve been 100% healthy for.
“Everyone is going to see my skills. On January 7, my new life and my career starts. I’m not worried about his talking, I let my hands talk for me.
“He hasn’t fought me yet, so he can forget about [WBC middleweight champion] Jermall Charlo. He’s doing this thing where he’s talking about facing other fighters, but he has to beat me first. I’ve got a built up frustration about it. You’re never supposed to look past the next man.
“I have to apply the pressure. Pressure bursts pipes. This fight is not going the distance.”
Andrade says he is happy to have a firefight.
“I hope he brings the pressure. I’m ready for whatever. If he says this fight isn’t going the distance, then I guess he’s going down,” Andrade said.
