Demetrius Andrade “invading” Canelo Alvarez’s post-fight press conference in Arlington on the 8th was hardly the first time a fighter tried to wedge himself into another fighter’s narrative by barging into a celebratory post-fight function. It was, however, one of the more humorous tries at rankling a “big dog” with some yap, yap, yapping from a much smaller dog.
“Man, you fight with nobody,” Alvarez responded in broken English to Andrade’s public call-out, after burying his head in his folded hands in mock frustration. “Hey, you are a champion and you fight with nobody, man. You won that belt with nobody. Get the fuck outta here, man. Please, get the fuck outta here. This my night.”
And when Andrade and his father responded angrily and were being dragged out of the conference room, all the while hurling insults and making threats, Alvarez continued, after issuing the “side-hand” salute, which is the Mexican equivalent to the middle finger.
“Hey, you are a horrible fighter. You never gonna get that fight, man. You are a horrible fighter, horrible fighter,” Alvarez taunted as the Andrades were being led away. “pay day...want your pay day..I know that.”
Andrade would continue on with his grudge, commenting on the DAZN Boxing Show:
“He’s a coward, he’s a coward...you give people the opportunity to fight for a legacy, but I can’t do that?
“That’s coward, bro. You fight Rocky Fielding. What has he done for the sport of boxing? Yildirim, what did he do for the sport of boxing? Callum Smith, he fought a bunch of old guys, won a championship, and then he’s someone that is supposed to be getting in there with Canelo...What did Billy Joe [Saunders] do to get that fight [with Canelo]? You went 12 rounds with Martin Murray and couldn’t get him out of there.
“But as far as the excuse not to get in the ring with me, to call me a horrible fighter, say, ‘I would never get in a fight with you,’ That’s coward shit.”
There’s a point to be made inside that grinding whine of “Boo Boo” Andrade. If Canelo deemed Avni Yildirim and Rocky Fielding worthy of a co-star spot, then why not Andrade? I mean, that seems to make some sense from those on the outside looking in. Both of those Euro imports were just as “you fight with nobody, man” as Andrade.
But here’s where things get deeper and where Andrade misses the point.
Yildirim and Fielding presented less of a risk than Andrade. And, by “risk,” I don’t necessarily mean a risk of beating him, but a risk of making a really bad, stylistically flat snoozer of a fight. Yildirim and Fielding were also filler fights, booked between larger bouts. It’s alright to have a couple of soft touches if Team Canelo plans on still squeezing in two “good” fights per year.
As for Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders also being unworthy or “as” worthy as Andrade?
Bullshit. Both Smith and Saunders brought significant audiences into their failed tries at the Mexican. They had greater name value than Andrade and delivered a large UK audience to their Canelo fights. On the other hand, nobody but Demetrius Andrade’s team and immediate family really care all that much when Andrade fights. People are not exactly cramming into pubs and having backyard fight parties to see the guy tap and half-punch his way to a safe decision win.
And that’s the biggest flaw with Andrade’s “nobody will fight me” laments and where he so decisively misses the point.
If he wants to be half of a blockbuster, given his risk-to-reward status, he has to create some sort of real following and energize the base with his performances.
Andrade’s laments are similar to Gennadiy Golovkin’s back in the day. We were told time and time again that the world was avoiding GGG and that’s why he had to fight B-teamers and scripted fall guys. But at least GGG was making his soft touches entertaining and creating buzz with his efforts. He wasn’t carrying much less talented opposition for the full twelve to safely make it to a comfortable, but absolutely mind-numbing win.
In boxing, fighters being avoided has always been a thing. Whether lacking the right connections or sporting the “wrong” style, some guys just don’t get themselves wedged into the star track so easily. And if these guys DO eventually want to get to the top, they find other ways to get where they want to go-- if they really want to get there. They amp up their performances. They jump divisions. They take on other fighters similarly avoided.
Andrade just keeps plodding along, doing what hasn’t worked, singing the same sad song for nearly a decade now-- and it hasn’t gotten him one step closer to where he says he wants to be.
I wrote this about Andrade back in 2017, but it could’ve been written yesterday:
“What if I told you that Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade was one of the best, most complete fighters in the world?
You’d probably demand some evidence to prove that bold proclamation—and the discussion would end right then and there. Because, while the two-time junior middleweight world champ has all of the physical assets necessary to prove my point, he has yet to actually show us that he can be anything other than a mega-talented fighter who someday, maybe, might put it all together for a sustained run at greatness.
The Providence, Rhode Island native has shown, in brief flashes here and there, promise of what a fully realized Andrade may look like. But there has never been a full year or even half-year, to be honest, where he has looked to be fully moving forward and fighting up to his full potential.”
There’s no denying the guy’s talent and skill. The problem seems to be that, maybe, he just doesn’t get the showbiz aspect of boxing or the sacrifices that need to be made if you want to make yourself a buzz-worthy fighter and have some leverage to create the opportunities he wants.
“I be trying to do this, but when I do it, I got to hear a backlash,” Andrade added to his grievances. “I’m sparking what needed to be sparked a long time ago...I’m doing what everybody needs to be doing if they want to fight somebody...
“When I try to fight on, they say, ‘You don’t deserve to fight him.’ Why does everybody else deserve to get in the ring but me? I don’t get that.”
Andrade really DOESN’T get it. That’s the problem. And, at 33 years of age, almost completely out of the picture he desperately wants to be in, time is running out for him to get it.
Got something for Magno? Send it here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com