Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is still one of, if not the, biggest names in the sport of boxing.
The Mexican sensation is 64 fights deep into a four-weight world title winning campaign, and at 33-years-old has just come off another successful defence of his undisputed super-middleweight status.
Given Canelo’s superstardom, there are many seeking a match-up against him – and one man who has been doing that longer than most is Demetrius Andrade.
A super-welter and middleweight champion, Andrade has now joined his Mexican foe at 168lbs, and is just one fight away from his shot.
Speaking to Fight Hub TV, the 35-year-old southpaw said that Canelo’s famous ‘payday’ taunt when he was called out years ago was disrespectful.
“He talking s**t. ‘Payday, I’m a horrible fighter.’ And then people send me things [saying] David Banevidez-Demetrius Andrade is a fifty-fifty fight. So then how am I a horrible fighter?”
“Canelo’s a great fighter, he’s making his mark, he dictates how he wants to do it, he’s doing a good job at it, at the end of the day I respect that. But him disrespecting me in the way he did, it was just like f**k you bitch.”
Andrade faces David Benavidez on November 25. Benavidez is currently the WBC’s mandatory challenger for Alvarez, and the sanctioning body has ordered that fight to be signed by March of next year.
The Rhode Island native isn’t looking ahead too much, but he believes fans should apply pressure to ensure the mandatory defence happens.
“F**k Canelo. No, listen, Canelo’s a great fighter. I’m not looking forward to depend on Canelo, cause that’s just not how it goes. He has the luxury to do whatever he wants to do. Right now, this is it. This is the biggest fight. From this point on the people have to get Canelo to want to take the winner – or the loser – of this fight.”
Andrade challenges for the mandatory status at the Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas in a Showtime PPV event.