Can Artur Akavov give him a fight?
If there is only one positive coming out of this card in the end it will be that the maddening inactivity from Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade (26-0, 16 KOs) really does seem to be over under Matchroom Boxing. This will be the former Olympian’s second fight in three months after only having fought six times in the past five years previously. The two division titleholder seems to finally be an active part of the sport and it is better for it.
This is because Demetrius Andrade is a really talented fighter. I’m not saying he is some sort of pound for pound elite by any means, but he has the physical ability to get close to that level if everything else comes together. Given the right style he has looked downright spectacular at times already too, particularly in 2016 on Showtime against the come forward aggression of Willie Nelson. Boo Boo has also been prone to both lackluster performances in terms of effectiveness and entertainment on separate occasions too though. Vanes Martirosyan and Jack Culcay are underrated fighters in my view, but they aren’t guys someone I just described as having pound for pound abilities should only narrowly get by. Alantez Fox also showed how limited Andrade’s ability to generate offense without a willing dance partner can be too in that dreadful fight, but to be fair a lot of styles will struggle with that sort of complete lack of engagement from the (in this case injured) opponent.
Still, I remain high on Demetrius Andrade. What I am not all that high on is this card. 33 year old former Billy Joe Saunders challenger Artur Akavov (19-2, 8 KOs) gets the call as the title challenger in Friday’s main event. While the American based Russian did put on a competitive performance against the British star, the consensus from that night was that the outcome was just as much Saunders being rusty and unprepared rather than Akavov proving his mettle at world level. I agree with that assessment as well. Saunders-Akavov became less and less competitive as it went on after Artur’s early successes. I don’t think Andrade is going to struggle with him much at all.
The co-main event in the form of Jorge Linares’s (45-4, 28 KOs) second bout up at junior welterweight isn’t much more compelling either. I’m not going to go as far as to say that former contender Pablo Cesar Cano (31-7-1, 21 KOs) is definitively shot, but he is definitely leaning in that direction. Yes, Cano did technically get a win over an unbeaten prospect last time out thanks to a technical decision. I just can’t shake the image of him being nuked early by a true regional level guy in Marcelino Lopez two fights ago. Plus Cano is 2-3 in his last five. He’s an old 29. And even if Pablo still has something left, has he ever had enough to deal with someone as talented as Jorge Linares? The former three division titleholder is one of the most crisp offensive fighters in recent history. He’s had some problems with durability, but Jorge can throw hands with the best of them. I just can’t see this one being all that competitive either.
Nor can I see Japanese challenger Ryohei Takahashi (16-3-1, 6 KOs) putting up much of a fight against Irish-Australian super bantamweight titleholder TJ Doheny (20-0, 14 KOs). Doheny is an underrated fighter while Takahashi has lost well below this level a couple times now. Why he is here I do not know.
Also in action will be the return of Chris Algieri (22-3, 8 KOs) as well as female star Amanda Serrano (35-1-1, 26 KOs) going for a world title in yet another weight class. The show begins at 7 PM Eastern on DAZN, but if you’re looking for just the main three fights then I’d wait a bit.
