Demetrius Andrade believes that WBC interim super middleweight champion David Benavidez is going to be plodding forward all night, walking straight at him, and will be vulnerable to his pinpoint shots on November 25th at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
The southpaw Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) says he’s going to pick Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) in the first half of their fight on Showtime PPV, and in the later rounds, he’s going to be running from him to keep from getting hit if he’s coming on strong like he often does in his fights.
The former two-division world champion Andrade isn’t impressed with the skills of Benavidez, noting that he’s not the most talented fighter in terms of technical ability.
What Benavidez does have is youth, size, power, and a high work rate, which he’s able to utilize effectively when his opponents are unable to escape his pressure, as we saw in his last fight against Caleb Plant.
Andrade has similar skills as Plant, but with better power and stamina. He’s not going to gas out after building up a lead in the first half against Benavidez the way Plant did.
If Caleb didn’t fade last March, he would have defeated Benavidez, and we’d likely be seeing Canelo giving him a rematch.
“My body mechanics are different than his, so he has to do what’s good for him and what’s best at his time,” said Demetrius Andrade to Fighthype when asked if Caleb Plant moved too much in his fight against David Benavidez last March.
“If he [Plant] overworked himself, that’s his problem. That’s not mine. So I’m going to be able to do what I know how to do because I’ve been doing it all my life, and I’m going to be able to pick the spots that I think I that’s going to be able to land some great shots.
“Benavidez is just going to come forward, and it’s fine because I have the finesse. I do have the leg work, I know how to move, I know when to mix it up, I know when to take time off, and I know how to win three minutes for the next 36 minutes, should I say.
“Oh yeah, for sure, definitely,” said Demetrius when asked if his left hand would be able to get Benavidez’s respect. “Oh yeah, because it’s fast, and with him, I’ll be able to throw it at all angles.
“I had a dude named [Walter] Kautondokwa that he was a straightforward guy who wanted to load up on shots and stuff like that, and I pick him apart.
“I’m not saying David fights like that, but he’s a big, strong guy, and so I just know how to frustrate him, I know how to take the will away, I know how to take layers off people.
“It’s not going to be easy against David because he’s a champion, he has will, he’s still young, and he does have skills, but he doesn’t have the best skills out there.
“This is David Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade. This is not [Jermell] Charlo and Canelo. This is not that at all. This is the best fight to be made, the best fighting the best at their proper weight classes I should say.
“It’s my second fight, but it is my weight class. I want to be a divisional world champion to own the whole middleweight division before I hang up the gloves.
“Listen, just because he comes on strong with those other fighters that are not able to move the way I move, I’m glad he does that because it’s still going to work in my favor.
“So, the first half, what is going to happen? He’s going to take pounding, and all of a sudden, he takes all the pounding, he takes it all, he takes everything. In the second half, I’m going to be running,” said Andrade.
