Demetrius Andrade could very well have his next fight lined up.
The undefeated WBO World middleweight champion made his first defence recently, ending the challenge of Artur Akavov in the final of 12 rounds at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Andrade (26-0, 16 KOs) was dominant against the Russian last week, exclusively live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN Stateside.
And the man who won the vacant title against Walter Kautondokwa last October at the TD Garden in Boston could face Billy Joe Saunders, the former champion who he was originally set to face on that card, in the coming months.
Saunders was stripped of the World title after being denied a boxing licence by the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission. The ruling was the result of an August drug test conducted by Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) which showed traces of banned substance oxilofrine in the former British, Commonwealth and European champion’s system.
Saunders claimed the substance came about due to inhaling a nasal decongestant to treat summer allergies.
The Hatfield man (27-0, 13 KOs) could be included in the January rankings with the Puerto Rican sanctioning body and it is understood that the WBO will next week consider Saunders’ request to be named mandatory challenger to Andrade.
He was last in action in December when he retired Charles Adamu at Manchester Arena, exclusively live on BT Sport Box Office, as part of the supporting cast to Josh Warrington’s IBF World featherweight title defence against Carl Frampton.
Further details regarding this situation will be revealed in due course.
Article by: Elliot Foster