Demetrius Andrade says he’s going to make it difficult for the ‘Mexican Monster’ David Benavidez to use his high-volume offense against him on Saturday night.
Benavidez has got to know that Andrade isn’t going to be stationary on Saturday night like the 27 guys he’s fought in the past. This is a different type of fighter to the ones that Benavidez has complied his record with, and he can’t count on Andrade standing perfectly still in front of him all night.
That’s not how this guy fights, as he actually has skills and talent, unlike the vast majority of the fighters Benavidez has fought since turning pro in 2013.
Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) states that he wants to hit and not get hit and put on a clinic against WBC interim super middleweight champion Benavidez (27-0, 23 KO) on Showtime PPV.
Benavidez has big dreams of using a victory over the 35-year-old former two-division world champion Andrade as a launching pad to get him the fight that he’s dreamed of for many years against Canelo Alvarez.
It’s questionable whether this fight will help further Benavidez’s goal of getting the fight with Canelo because, thus far, he’s come up empty despite being a two-time WBC super middleweight champion.
A normal person would have already seen what time it is and recognized that Canelo doesn’t fancy the fight and will never give them the time of day. But sadly, Benavidez & his dad, Jose Sr., still cling to the hopes that one day, Canelo will entertain them for a fight.
Those hopes, as dim as they are, could be permanently dashed on Saturday night if Andrade defeats Benavidez, and takes away his unbeaten record.
Andrade ready for war
“I’m prepared to get hit, he’s prepared to get hit, and there’s going to be a lot of punches thrown,” said Demetrius Andrade to the media today, talking about his fight against interim WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez this Saturday night.
Andrade is going to have to get hit a fair amount by Benavidez because if he’s elusive, he’ll have to stop from time to time and exchange with him. That’ll be interesting to see if Andrade can avoid the shots from Benavidez and nail him with punches that impress the judges.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’m just ready to rumble at this point,’ said Andrade. “I don’t need to do the whole back-and-forth type stuff. I do it my own way, and I always do my talking with my hands as well.
“I’m 32-0 for a reason, and on November 25th, you’re going to see the best Andrade. Just this fight alone changes the dynamic of things. All that stuff out there, that was answered by me taking this fight and by him taking this fight.
“It’s the two best guys fighting at this weight class. Yeah, of course,” said Andrade when asked if Benavidez is the best fighter he’ll have faced. “He’s a two-time world champion at 168.
“Tyson was really, really high that day,” said Andrade about his thoughts on Mike Tyson naming Benavidez the ‘Mexican Monster.’ “Just winning,” said Demetrius about his goal for the Benavidez fight. “That’s the most important thing, winning. How I do it is the way I do it on November 25th.
“Benavidez lost his title on the scales, and Canelo never gave him the opportunity to fight him. Therefore, he never lost to anybody. Why didn’t Canelo give him the shot, if that’s the case? So now we’re here,” said Andrade.
Demetrius to be elusive
“Now, I get to throw the monkey wrench into the pot, and beating David Benavidez gives me the shot. If not, we’re still the two best fighters fighting [at 168],” said Andrade.
Demetrius can make Benavidez’s life positively miserable if he beats him, because he’d finally be forced to confront the unpleasant reality of his life.
Canelo is not going to fight him, and now he never will. Benavidez would then need to decide whether to stay at 168 and literally put his career on the line by fighting Andrade in a rematch or play it smart, cut his losses, and move up to 175, where he should be fighting, given his massive light heavyweight frame.
“He [Canelo] already does. He thinks I’m horrible, and it’s a 50-50 fight. He knows I can fight,” said Demetrius when asked if Canelo will have an opinion about him if he beats Benavidez.
“We’re going to show up, be elusive, and bring boxing and excitement that they’ve been missing from my part at least. I haven’t been hit much. The same way I’ve been avoiding by slipping, dodging, and blocking,” said Andrade.
“I’m definitely going to bet on black the whole night through. I haven’t got all of boxing yet, and I feel this is the time to do that; and I’m still young, tall, black & handsome. Yeah, I still have a lot of steam and fire left.
“Skills pay the bills. Not that he’s not skillful. He’s a tough, strong guy, who is going to come forward and try to put his own will, but I have the sauce, as I said. I can break him down, get him frustrated, and do a lot of things and hit him. It’s all good.
“Everything is mind control. Of course, I’m in his head. I’m going to do what I got to do so I can get these guys where I need to get them. Of course, I’m elusive. This is my personality; this is who I am, but, of course, when it’s time to turn it on, it’s time to turn it on.
“I wouldn’t be an Olympian, 32-0, if I didn’t have that turn-on button. Of course, people are always going to jump on the bandwagon,” said Andrade when asked if he’d get respect from fans in a similar way that Terence Crawford did after his big win.
Andrade wants Canelo
“Of course, I want Canelo. There’s a real story there. There’s a real build-up and real facts,” said Andrade. “I was the WBO champion at 154. He said he didn’t care about belts at that time. I get stripped because of inactivity. I didn’t get no match-ups. He goes and fights Liam Smith for my belt.”
Andrade’s chances of getting a shot at Canelo are about as good as Benavidez’s, meaning he has a very slim chance. If Andrade wins on Saturday, the best thing he can hope for is a lucrative rematch with Benavidez.
“At 160, he fights GGG for the three belts. I have the WBO at 160. He says he wants to be undisputed,” said Andrade. “What did he do? He blamed it on paperwork and fought Kovalev. No disrespect to Kovalev, was kind of damaged goods.
“The story must continue. Now, we’re at 168. Not that I’m chasing Canelo. I’m chasing my own greatness, doing my own thing, and he happened to be the guy that everybody wanted to fight at the same time. So I’m here.”
It would be a miracle if Andrade beats Benavidez and Canelo agrees to fight him next in May 2024. That would be dream come true, a storybook type of situation for Demetrius because he’s been avoided his entire 15-year pro career, and never given the chance for the important fights.
“The same thing I’ve been saying. F*** Canelo,” said Andrade when asked if he wanted to fight Canelo. Canelo is great, but f*** Canelo,” said Andrade.
