Demetrius Cesar Andrade ( ; born February 26, 1988) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, at light middleweight and middleweight. As an amateur, he won the U.S. national championships and Golden Gloves twice each, a gold medal at the 2007 World Championships, and represented the U.S. at the 2008 Olympics; all in the welterweight division.
Early life Andrade was introduced to boxing at the early age of four after regularly visiting his father Paul's gym. There, he observed his father training his older brother. At the age of six, Andrade's boxing journey began when his father started training him. He earned the nickname "Boo Boo" due to his risk-taking and daredevil nature. He regularly hurt himself jumping off roofs, climbing trees, and engaging in other adventurous activities.
Besides boxing, he played football but credited boxing with helping him build self-reliance and character, as it is an individual sport rather than one that depends on others in a team.
Amateur career Demetrius Andrade obtained arguably the most successful amateur boxing reputation amongst all Rhode Island fighters in history. A Providence native of Cape Verdean descent, southpaw Andrade began boxing in 1994 at the age of 6. His nickname "Boo Boo" quickly became well known amongst the locals and he later became a recognized name across the United States.
Andrade won the United States Amateur Boxing Championship in 2005, and repeated it in 2006 when he also won the National Golden Gloves. He again won the National Golden Gloves in 2007, but did not compete in the U.S. Amateurs that year due to injury.
Andrade initially struggled at the international level, losing to Eastern Europe opponents at the World Cup in 2005 and 2006. However, he won the silver medal at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, losing in the gold medal match to Brazilian hometown favorite Pedro Lima by a narrow 7-6 margin.
He won gold at the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships, where he beat Kakhaber Zhvania, Dmitrijs Sostaks, 2005 silver medalist Magomed Nurutdinov, future champion Jack Culcay-Keth, and Adem Kılıççı in the semifinal round. He beat Non Boonjumnong of Thailand in the finals, a match in which Andrade inflicted a standing eight count upon Boonjumnong and was leading by a score of 11-3 in the second round when Boonjumnong retired with an injury to his right arm.
Andrade attempted one last amateur endeavor before deciding to become professional. At the Olympic trials he defeated hard-punching Keith Thurman 27:13 In 2008, Demetrius Andrade was honored with the satisfaction of representing the USA in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and he became known as one of the favorites to win a gold medal. He overcame Kakhaber Zhvania and the highly regarded Russian Andrey Balanov 14:3 to advance to the quarterfinals but he was shocked by Korean veteran Kim Jung-Joo 9:11 (Olympic results) in a controversial loss. Though unable to win an Olympic Gold Medal that year, Andrade decided to end his exceptional amateur campaign and become a professional.
Professional career
Light middleweight
Early career Demetrius Andrade became a professional boxer and had his first pro fight in October 2008.
He defeated Patrick Cape at Northern Quest Casino, Airway Heights, Washington in a second-round knockout. He went on to win a TKO over Eric Marriott before making his Friday Night Fights debut against Tom Joseph on March 6 with a 1st-round TKO victory. Only 2 weeks later, Demetrius beat Arnulfo Javier Romero in a second-round KO. On June 19, 2009 he won in a unanimous decision against Tony Hirsch and followed up with another KO against Chad Greenleaf in the second round.
Andrade went on to defeat John Williams by TKO in the 6th round, and Chris Chatman by unanimous decision. Andrade's record jumped to an impressive 9–0 record after demolishing Italian boxer Bernardo Guereca, with a 1st-round KO. Demetrius defeated his next ten opponents, including five fights ending by KO and the others ending by unanimous decision.
Andrade vs. Martirosyan An opportunity arose in the Summer of 2013 when the vacant WBO light middleweight title would be decided by one match between Andrade and Armenian contender Vanes Martirosyan (33–0–1, 21 KOs). Andrade was scheduled to fight titlist Zaurbek Baysangurov on July 6 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Baysangurov was stripped after suffering a back injury and being sidelined for an extended period of time. The fight took place on November 9, 2013, at the American Bank Center in Texas. The fight was originally scheduled to take place on September 7 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Andrade defeated Martirosyan via split decision with scores of 114–113, 117–110 and 112–115 to win the vacant WBO title. Andrade was knocked down in the first round from a left hook by Martirosyan after dominating the entire round. Andrade used his jab and quickness to control the majority of the fight.
Andrade vs. Rose On March 20, 2014 it was confirmed that British boxer and mandatory challenger Brian Rose (25–1–1, 7 KO) would be the first defence of Andrade's world title reign. The fight would take place on June 14 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Andrade dominated Rose, a British native via 7th-round TKO. Andrade was ahead on all scorecards (60–51 & 60–52 twice) at the time of stoppage. Rose was dropped hard by straight left hand from Andrade in the first round. In round 3, Andrade connected with a counter right hook, which put Rose on the canvas a second time. Referee Michael Griffin stepped in to put an end to the one-sided beatdown in round 7. Compubox showed Andrade landed 149 of 452 total punches (33%), while Rose connected on a minor 30 of 179 total punches (17%). The fight advanced Andrade to an outstanding 21–0 with 14 knockouts. Andrade put in a dominant performance to claim his place as a top champion in order to lure a future fight with the division best including Canelo Álvarez and Floyd Mayweather. For the fight, Andrade earned $200,000 compared to Rose, who earned a $100,000 purse. The fight averaged 882,000 viewers on HBO.
Andrade vs. Charlo negotiations Andrade was scheduled to fight Jermell Charlo (24–0, 11 KOs) at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino on December 13, 2014, defending his WBO title. On November 16 was cancelled due to purse issues. Andrade was reportedly offered $250,000, but later increased to what would be a career high $300,000 purse. In January 2015, Banner Promotions stated the fight was back on and likely to take place in the Spring of 2015. The following month, Star Boxing and Banner Promotions announced a deal was being worked out, however, Andrade would ultimately pull out. In August 2015, Andrade sued entertainment agency Roc Nation alleging they had persuaded him to reject a $550K offer to face Charlo along with a three-fight deal with Showtime in exchange for a separate deal that did not materialize.
Inactivity and comeback After 13 months with no title defenses and none scheduled, Andrade was stripped of the title by the World Boxing Organization Committee. On September 11, 2014, it was announced that the WBO had granted a request by Andrade's promoter to have him to challenge for the vacant WBO middleweight title against Matt Korobov. Andrade's father and trainer, Paul Andrade, stated "I would like to thank the WBO for having faith in us and giving us the opportunity,". However, less than a month later, it was announced that Andrade had elected to pull out of the fight and continue campaigning at the junior middleweight division.
On September 16, 2015 Banner Promotions and Star Boxing announced that Andrade would return to the ring after 16 months of inactivity against 28 year old Argentine boxer Dario Fabian Pucheta (20-2, 11 KOs) for the vacant WBA International light middleweight title at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut on October 17. In a statement, Andrade said, "It's about time that I get back in the ring. I am happy to be fighting [near] home in front of my fans." Andrade headlined the card. Andrade won the vacant regional title by knocking out Pucheta in the second round. Andrade started strong dropping Pucheta in round 1 following a straight left. Pucheta was dropped again in the opening round when Andrade landed a right uppercut. Another right hand in round 2 ended the bout.
Andrade vs. Nelson ESPN reported that Andrade would take part in a Showtime-televised tripleheader in a WBC light middleweight final eliminator against 28 year old contender Willie Nelson (25–2–1, 15 KOs) on June 11, 2016 at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York. Andrade defeated Nelson via a 12th round stoppage. The win put Andrade in line for a WBC title shot against then-newly crowned champion Jermell Charlo. Andrade knocked Nelson down four times throughout the fight before it finally came to an end. The final knockdown occurred in round 12 following a right hand. Referee Dick Pakozdi then stopped the fight at 1:38 of the round. The other knockdowns appeared in round 1, 11 and 12, before the final knockdown. With Nelson looking hesitant to throw punches, it allowed Andrade to work over and continiusly land at will. Following the fight, Andrade said, "I'm coming to get those belts.People can't run no more. The best have to fight the best. I'm coming for them. I came back, I'm stronger. Me and my team worked hard. We figured out what we need to do to take it to the next level. I'm ready for the Charlo brothers. I want them."
Andrade, although he was mandatory for Jermell Charlo's WBC title, made it known that he was also targeting a fight with long-time WBA 'super' champion Erislany Lara (23–2–2, 13 KOs), who was also regarded one of the best at 154 pounds. Andrade's promoter Artie Pellulo told ESPN, "I'm going to ask Stephen (Espinoza) if he is interested in doing a fight between Demetrius and Lara." However, Andrade later stated he'd only face Lara as a "last resort", preferring to face Jack Culcay for a lesser title with the goal of securing a fight with Jermell Charlo in the future; “He [Lara] won't engage or try and make the fight entertaining, especially if it's coming into my favor,” Andrade explained. “He's just going to survive, try to run, try to do the little pitty-pat counter punches."
Andrade vs. Culcay Andrade agreed terms to fight Jack Culcay (22–1, 11 KOs) for the WBA 'Regular' light middleweight title at the MBS Arena in Potsdam, Brandenburg on November 5, 2016. Sauerland Event won the purse bid for the fight at $425,144, 25% of which will go to Andrade. Showtime confirmed they would not be broadcasting the fight, despite interest in Andrade, due to them not wanting to go head to head with Manny Pacquiao's return on that same date. Andrade defeated Culcay in the amateurs on the way to winning gold at the 2007 World Championships. The fight was cancelled after it was revealed Andrade's camp had failed to meet several deadlines the WBA had set for the official contracts to be signed. The contract was eventually signed, however as they have failed to meet the deadlines given by the WBA and Team Sauerland, the fight remained cancelled.