WBO interim middleweight champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly has been elevated by the WBO Championship Committee to “full champion” status, effective immediately. The belt was declared vacant after no deal could be reached between the now former middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade and Alimkhanuly.
As for Andrade, WBO Committee again sanctioned an interim super middleweight title fight between Andrade and Zach Parker. The WBO previously allowed Andrade to keep the middleweight title when he chose to move up to super middleweight to fight Parker for the WBO interim belt in May. That bout was postponed due to a shoulder injury suffered in training by Andrade. The WBO then ordered Andrade to defend his middleweight belt against Alimkhanuly. That didn’t happen and Andrade is now beltless for the moment.
Hopelessly, Andrade is in search of a big payday that will never come, Canelo and a lots of fan has zero interest in a fight with him. Maybe he could face Benavidez, but I doubt he might like that idea, Plant?
Bottom line: Enjoy retirement Andrade
Andrade vs Munguia or Eubank Jr., if he doesn’t want to make 160 anymore, doubt he gets the winner of Canelo or Golovkin. Maybe he should try to get rated by the WBC, IBF, and WBA at 168. 35 in 6 months, but Crawford will be 35 in 1 month, and nobody has is writing off Crawford into retirement quite yet. Crawford a lot closer to a mega fight than Andrade though.
Mungia was his mandatory but didn’t want the title shot.
I’m not surprised at all. I think Andrade thinks Parker is an easier fight than Alim (and I agree with him). If he does beat Parker, he’ll end up as champion at 168 because there’s no way Canelo will fight him and he’ll start to break up all those titles and Andrade will have one.
But he will be in the exact same position he was at 160 – absolutely no one will fight him. The only way Andrade gets a big fight is, in two or three years if he still has a title, someone like Benavidez, Morrell or Munguia looks at him and sees he’s faded and decides that having a win over him on their record is now worth the diminished risk. It’s just unfortunate for Andrade.
Boo Boo is a victim of his own doing. He will be WBO S/M champ but that’s as good as it gets.
Is Andrade so good that he is completely avoided, or is he just not an interesting fighter with zero fan base? It seems like he wants to be relevant but never really is. From a few fights that I’ve seen him, he looks like a very good fighter that could compete with the best. Is he the modern-day Mike McCallum but in a ever tougher luck? Just don’t know enough about him.
He’s very, very good and he’s also pretty awkward and, like you said, he doesn’t have much of a following. There’s really no reason for a big named fighter to fight him. I wish someone would, but I don’t think it happens until he’s lost a few steps and maybe not even then.
Damn! Nobody wanted to fight andrade for being such a boring fighter and now without the belts, much less! he should just retire! May be jake paul or ksi give him a chance for a fight!
Qazak style would have beaten the overrated Andrade anyway. 160 just got more interesting.
Andrade would get no credit from the fans for beating Alimkhanuly or Parker. He has beaten these type tough guys already. Camp Munguia waiting around as the mandatory praying he just disappears. Munguia and Ryan Garcia the same. “no cojones” to fight the best.