Via Jim Calfa: Demetrius Andrade could delay his promotion to 168 by staying at 160 to defend his WBO middleweight belt against his required Zhanibek Alimkhanuly next.
According to DAZN’s Chris Mannix, Andrade promoter Eddie Hearn is in talks with Top Rank, promoters of undefeated Zhanibek (11-0.7 KOs), for a match in the first quarter of 2022.
It’s a potentially risky fight for the undefeated Andrade (31-0.19 KOs) because it’s arguably the deadliest opponent he’s faced during his 14-year professional career, and it comes at the worst possible time.
Andrade, 33, wants elusive boxers in Canelo, Jermall Charlo or Gennady Golovkin. But if he lost to heavyweight Zhanibek in 2016, he could forever forget any fights that happened.
If Andrade vacates his WBO middleweight title to raise it to 168 and is deemed mandatory for Canelo’s supermiddleweight title, there’s no guarantee the Mexican star will take on him.
Indeed, Canelo is likely to vacate his 168-lb WBO title if the sanctioning body tries to force him to defend against 6’0″ tall Andrade as it was a bad style match for he.
Andrade stuck with Zhanibek
“Demetrius Andrade has been ordered to protect [WBO] Chris Mannix mentioned above JABS on DAZN.
“Demetrius Andrade has hopes of defending his title against either Jermall Charlo or Jaime Munguia after knocking out Jason Quigley last November. But to keep his belt, he will have to defend it against Alimkhanuly.
“I think Andrade should do one more in the next few months at 160. That means continuing with this imperative against Alimkhanuly
“I have been informed that there have been some preliminary discussions between Eddie Hearn and Top Rank about dueling Janibek Alimkhanuly, then let’s see what happens with Canelo and whether he picks Jermall Charlo or not. Are not.
“Let’s see what happens to Jaime Munguia if Munguia doesn’t fight Golovkin in the next six months,” Mannix explicitly said that he thinks Demetrius should have a mandatory Alimkhanuly chance in his WBO.
“That is how he was defeated by this young unknown second version of Gennadiy Golovkin. That’s how Zhanibek fights,” said Sergio Mora of how he thought it was a bad idea for Demetrius to play Kazakhstan.
“He was an unknown who beat two former champions in the knockout round by submission pretty much. He beats them until their corner has to stop it: Mora talks about Zhanibek.
Andrade got stuck between a rock and a hard place, with the WBO ordering him to face Zhanbibek.
If Andrade vacillates to change Zhanibek, he may not be any better off at 168 than he is now in terms of his ability to get the big money fights he craves.
Moving to 168 would leave Andrade without a title, and it could be years before the WBO orders Canelo to protect him.
Again, if the WBO orders the Mexican star to defend against Andrade, he is likely to vacate immediately. Famous super-middleweights Caleb Plant and Billy Joe Saunders probably wouldn’t agree to fight Andrade because it didn’t deserve them.
Zhanibek fights for Demetrius
“This guy [Zhanibek] Mora said. “He’s a tough fighter, he’s patient, and he’s a mystery. You don’t stand up for such guys. This would be a recipe for disaster for Andrade.
“On top of my head, I’m trying to think of a former champion who was defeated by an unknown. Amir Khan, you’re gone when he’s taken down by an unknown [Briedis Prescott]. It derails your career, and you have to turn around.
“There are so many champions defeated by imperatives like this that they shouldn’t be fighting. It’s about doing the right teamfights, calculating the risk to make money from the start until, in the end, one of these champions is forced to look your way.
“It’s the same way Erislandy Lara did with Canelo. He kept winning, winning, winning, and holding the championship until he was finally cashed in on Canelo,” Mora said.
“Will you stop? You’ve attributed to Alimkhanuly things that haven’t been proven to be there,” Mannix said.
“You are placing too many shares to win against Rob Brant and Hassan Ndam. That’s ridiculous, and that’s what you’re doing,” Mannix said.
Zhanibek is a risky fight for Andrade and the best fighter he will ever face. 33-year-old Andrade isn’t young, and he struggled with heavyweight Liam Williams last year.
Zhanibek hit hard like Williams but much more talented. This is a fight that Andrade will need to have on his bike the whole time if he doesn’t want to get knocked out.
Should Demetrius be at 160?
“It’s ridiculous to think that this guy [Zhanibek] is some sort of terrifying threat to Demetrius Andrade, but whatever,” Mannix said as he expressed doubts about the threat Zhanibek posed to Andrade.
“I think Andrade should try again to get those big names [Canelo, Gennadiy Golovkin, Jermall Charlo, and Jaime Munguia] because look.
“Everybody knows how I feel about Jermall Charlo. I think Charlo has made a bad impression on himself over the past three years by only fighting once a year and not accepting big challenges.
“That aside, it’s time for Jaime Munguia to have an important fight. Jaime Munguia was in middleweight for two years and fought four times in those two years. He is ready for a real challenge.
“He followed Golovkin everywhere, hoping Golovkin would give him a shot. Golovkin will probably fight in February or March against [WBA middleweight champion] Ryota Murata.
“He may want to wait and see what Canelo Alvarez does in the next game in May. Munguia, he fought Demetrius Ballard or could fight someone else. But it’s time for Jaime Munguia to take a real test.
“Demetrius Andrade is saying he will give Munguia a title right now. Munguia should jump on it and grab it,” said Mannix.
As long as Andrade’s wallet doesn’t drop after he vacated his WBO middleweight belt to 168, he should make a move.
It doesn’t seem like Andrade would be better off gaining weight if he can’t get any famous boxers like Canelo or Plant to counter him. At this point, the only reason for Andrade to go up to 168 is if he doesn’t have the confidence to beat Zhanibek.
Andrade on the verge of making a lot of money
Mora said: “Demetrius Andrade is just one big fight to get the money you said. “Whenever you’re talented and you’re evaded, it’s going to take a long time to earn that money.
“Think of all the greats who had to wait until they were 30 before making millions. I would love to see him fight against BJ Saunders, go back and fight Demetrius Andrade like he did before.
“And I would love to meet David Lemieux at 168 to face Demetrius Andrade. I would love to see him fight against Munguia. This is what if is? Amidst those things-ifs, a guy like Zhabibek stepped into the mix and blew everyone out of the water. I think he’s a real person.
“I watched him fight, and he was a patient assassin; he’s a male idol, has Olympic pedigree, and has both arms. This is one guy you don’t want to deal with, especially when you’re on the verge of making all that money. I said don’t take the risk,” Mora said.
“He is [Andrade] not on the verge of making all that money. What do you talking about? ‘ Mannix spoke of Demetrius. “Where is this Brinks truck supporting Demetrius Andrade now? Where is it? At 168, it’s not there.
“You can’t point to a lengthy fight going on for Demetrius Andrade at 168,” Mannix said.
I disagree that Andrade is on the verge of a big money fight because none of the big names at 160 seem to want to fight him. GGG, Charlo and Jaime Munguia have shown no interest in fighting Andrade,
