Demetrius Andrade (25-0, 16 KO’s) faces off against similarly undefeated Walter Kautondokwa (17-0, 16 KO’s) for the vacant WBO middleweight championship this Saturday night at the TD Garden, home of the Boston Celtics basketball team.
The Providence, Rhode Island native – an accomplished former amateur and former WBO champion at super welterweight – was originally slated to challenge former titleholder Billy-Joe Saunders, before the Massachusetts Commonwealth Athletic Commission steadfastly refused to sanction the contest following the Brit’s positive VADA test for the banned stimulant oxilofrine.
As a result, Saunders’ own title reign came to an ignominious end; and in stepped Kautondokwa, an obscure yet seemingly heavy-handed opponent, boasting an unblemished record of 17 wins with 16 knockouts.
Kautondokwa was lurking at number two in the rankings and it was highly likely that the winner of Saunders-Andrade would have been ordered to face the formidable Namibian at some point in the near future. As it stands, Kautondokwa’s opportunity has arrived sooner than expected; albeit at the expense of one of the most tantalising middleweight match-ups that could have been conceived between two undefeated southpaws.
Indeed, Andrade was widely regarded as a credible threat to Saunders’ title reign. Punters pointed to his skillset and style as factors that could potentially enable him to dethrone Hatfield-born Saunders, who had reigned since his December 2015 majority-decision victory over Andy Lee; another rangy southpaw who was able to pose problems for Saunders’ despite the latter’s early success.
Despite his initial promise, much of Andrade’s recent career, however, has been characterised by long stretches of inactivity. In October 2017, he made a successful return to HBO on his middleweight debut with a unanimous points win over Atlantez Fox, after claiming the WBA ‘Regular’ super welterweight title with an unconvincing split-decision victory over Jack Culcay earlier that year.
Ultimately, Kautondokwa will be hoping to capitalise on the short notice – coupled with Andrade’s inactivity – in order to spring a surprise. Nevertheless, expect Andrade to become a two-weight World champion with a resounding points win, before looking to pursue a unification fight with the winner of the vacant IBF World title fight between Danny Jacobs and Sergey Derevyanchenko.
The undercard also features significant World title action as Tevin Farmer defends his IBF super featherweight strap against Belfast’s hard-hitting James Tennyson.
Philadelphia’s Farmer, a sharp counter-puncher, has repeatedly expressed a desire to face rival Gervonta Davis – his WBA ‘Super’ counterpart in the division – but first he must make a statement by emphatically dispatching of Tennyson, in order to make a successful first defence of the title he impressively won on away soil against Australian Billy Dib earlier this year.
Katie Taylor also defends her WBA and IBF lightweight titles against arguably her toughest opponent to date in Cindy Serrano. Meanwhile, Sheffield’s undefeated featherweight contender Kid Galahad looks to extend his record to 25-0 with a win over Toka Clary in an IBF World title eliminator.
In addition, former WBA super bantamweight champion Scott Quigg looks to rebound from his unsuccessful WBO featherweight challenge against Oscar Valdez with a win over Mario Briones. Also in action, Hull’s Tommy Coyle – fresh off a stunning stoppage victory over Sean Dodd – and Kazakhstan’s former Olympic gold medallist Daniyar Yellussinov both look to make Stateside impressions in their respective fights.
Article by: Navi Singh
Follow Navi on Twitter at: @DarkMan________