1/18 DAZN Demetrius Andrade vs Artur Akavov (WBO Middleweight Title)

patscorpio

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Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn will kick off his 2019 slate of American-based cards for sports streaming service DAZN on Jan. 18 at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York with middleweight world titleholder Demetrius Andrade in the main event. He made it official on Friday.

Andrade (26-0, 16 KOs), 30, of Providence, Rhode Island, who won a vacant title by scoring four knockdowns and winning a lopsided decision against Walter Kautondokwa on Oct. 20 in Boston, will make his first defense against Artur Akavov (19-2, 8 KOs), 33, of Russia.

"I couldn't be more excited about this opportunity," Andrade said. "Fighting at Madison Square Garden, where so many great fighters have fought is a true honor, and something I have dreamt about my entire life.

"People might not know much about Akavov, but this is a guy who went overseas and gave Billy Joe Saunders absolute hell. Most people thought that he should have won the fight. This is an optional defense, so I could have fought anyone I wanted, but we chose to fight a guy that we know is going to bring it all night long and a guy who in many people's eyes beat Saunders."

In December 2016, Akavov lost a decision to Saunders in a title challenge but indeed gave him a very tough fight.

Andrade was supposed to challenge Saunders in the Oct. 20 fight, but Saunders vacated the belt after testing positive for a banned substance knowing he would be stripped.

"I know that I have an extremely tough task in front of me, but that's what this game is all about," Andrade said. "I want all the top guys, all the belts."

Akavov has won all three of his fight since the loss to Saunders.

"After the fight with Saunders, I was hoping for a rematch because that fight left a lot of unanswered questions," he said. "I believe that Andrade is a better fighter than Saunders, and this is my chance to answer those questions. I understand the weight of the responsibility that is on my shoulders and will give it 100 percent."

The card will also include six-division women's world titleholder and reigning junior welterweight titlist Amanda Serrano (35-1-1 26 KOs), 30, of Brooklyn, New York, who will drop all the way down to junior bantamweight looking to win a title in a seventh weight class and break her women's record for titles in the most divisions. She will challenge titlist Eva Voraberger (24-5, 11 KOs), 28, of Austria.

"I'm super excited to be able to make history," said Serrano, who expected to move back up to lightweight later in 2019 for a showdown with unified titlist Katie Taylor.

The card will also include two fighters aiming to line up 2019 title fights with junior welterweight titlist Maurice Hooker: former three-division titlist Jorge Linares and former junior welterweight titlist Chris Algieri.

Linares (45-4, 28 KOs), 33, a Venezuela native fighting out of Las Vegas, is on the card thanks to the good working relationship between his promoter, Golden Boy, and Hearn. In a 12-round bout, Linares will face fellow Golden Boy fighter Pablo Cesar Cano (31-7-1, 21 KOs), 29, of Mexico, who upset unbeaten up-and-comer Ruslan Madiev on Sept. 13.

Linares is seeking a second straight win since losing his lightweight world title by 10th-round knockout to pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko in May.

"My next goal is to become the first four-division world champion from Venezuela," Linares said. "I accomplished what I needed to accomplish at 135 pounds, and in my last fight with Abner Cotto (a third-round knockout in September) I showed that I can take my speed and power to this new division.

"We've been going back to the basics with my old trainer Jorge Zerpa, and I know I can earn another world title in this new weight class. But first I have a tough fight against Pablo Cesar Cano."

Cano is aiming for a second upset win in a row.

"This is a great opportunity that I will not fail to take advantage of," he said.

Algieri (22-3, 8 KOs), 34, of Huntington, New York, who returned from a 2½-year layoff for a win Nov. 30, will face Danny Gonzalez (17-1-1, 7 KOs), 28, of Woodhaven, New York, in a scheduled 10-round fight.

"Both Algieri and Gonzalez jumped at the chance of fighting each other," said Star Boxing's Joe DeGuardia, who promotes them both and works closely with Hearn. "Although they know each other well and are Star Boxing stablemates, they both recognize the enormous opportunity this fight provides."

If Algieri wins and comes away unscathed he could be back as soon as late February or March to challenge Hooker with Linares potentially getting a title shot as soon as June.

"We are delighted to welcome Jorge Linares to the card. Jorge has boxed on many of our shows in the U.K. and is a pound-for-pound quality fighter," Hearn said. "I love the Maurice Hooker fight in the summer."
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trick

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Yikes. A rare Friday night card though. Hopefully the matchroom USA cards get better :francis:

The Jaime Munguia card the week after this one looks better than this
 
patscorpio

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trick said:



According to boxrec, Vergil Ortiz Jr is on this card too.

Honestly, I just like that there's a lot of young boxers on this card. This is the same night as Keith Thurman's return.
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i know this is going against the espn+ friday night card..a rarity indeed...going to watch both as always
 
reservoirdogs

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Andrade is one of those fighters who you can truly say at that "at least he's staying active". Same group as Beterbiev in this regard. For now I'm gonna let it pass, the opponent isn't good but not abysmal either, he gave BJS a tough out and Andrade is back in the ring pretty fast at least and it's only his first opponent since he got the belt. After this I'd like him to fight someone with more to offer though like a Derevyanchenko, Korobov, Brant (idk if any of them realistic) or even guys like Lemieux (would be a bad opponent for Canelo, for Andrade he would be a good opponent at this stage) or Sulecki.
 
ℒℴѵℯJay ELECTUA

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KingOFKings said:
It's crazy how this has 0 buzz, was there even a press conference?

How would anyone even know this fight is happening?

Matchroom needs to work on their promotion, it's terrible.
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that's what happens when the promoter is living in another country and has his business/fights to take care of over there..

im sure he has an american partner etc to do the work here but look at it all?
 
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Weights From New York City: Andrade 159.8, Akavov 160

By Jake Donovan

Demetrius Andrade and Artur Akavov are locked and loaded for DAZN USA's first offering of the new year.

Both boxers easily made weight ahead of their scheduled 12-round middleweight title clash, which takes place Friday evening at Hulu Theatre in New York City.

Andrade tipped the scales at a fighting fit 159.8 pounds for his first title defense; Akavov came in right at the 160-pound middleweight limit his second title fight opportunity.

andrade-akavov%20(2).jpg


The bout will headline a nine-fight card—including three title fights—which will air live on sports streaming service DAZN USA.

For Andrade (26-0, 16KOs), it’s a welcomed interruption to an old schedule where the unbeaten Providence native would experience massive gaps of inactivity in his career. The 2008 U.S. Olympian and two-division titlist now fights for the second time in three months, claiming his 160-pind title in a shutout win over Walter Kautondokwa last October in Boston.

Akavov (19-2, 8KOs) enters the fight having won five straight since a narrow points loss to then-middleweight titlist Billy Joe Saunders in Dec. ’16.

The evening's chief support was among the show's latest additions, with TJ Doheny set to make the first defense of his super bantamweight title versus Japan's Ryohei Takahashi.

Ireland's Doheny—who traveled to Japan for a 12-round title winning effort over Ryosuke Iwasa—clocked in at 121.75 pounds. Takahashi (22-3-1, 16KOs) weighed 121.8 pounds for his first title fight, which also comes in his U.S. debut.

In the third title fight of the night, history-making Amanda Serrano (35-1-1, 26KOs) moves down an unheard-of SIX weight divisions for her 115-pound vacant title tilt versus Austria's Eva Voraberger.

Serrano checked in at a chiseled 114.2 pounds, just four months after winning a title at the 140-pound super lightweight division. The win netted her a title in a record-breaking sixth weight division, with a victory on Friday putting her in exclusive company with Manny Pacquiao as the only boxers ever to claim major titles in seven or more weight divisions (Pacquiao has done so in eight).

Voraberger (24-5, 11KOs) hopes to disrupt those plans. The 28-year old also had to move down in weight, dropping one division from bantamweight—where she holds an interim title—to weigh 114.8 pounds for Friday's tall order.

Two more bouts on the show could very well provide the respective winners with title fights of their own in the very near future.

Former three-division titlist Jorge Linares weighed 139.4 pounds for his second fight at super lightweight, following his title-losing effort to pound-for-pound entrant Vasiliy Lomachenko last May. His opponent, veteran contender Pablo Cesar Cano clocked in at 139.6 pounds for their 12-round bout.

The winner is being teased as a potential future option for unbeaten 140-pound titlist Maurice Hooker. Interestingly the same promise has been made to whomever prevails in a 10-round battle between New Yorkers Chris Algieri and Daniel Gonzalez

Algeiri, a former 140-pound titlist who returned last November filing more than two years away from the ring—weighed 140 pounds. His opponent and longtime sparring partner, Queens' Gonzalez weighed 139.4 pounds.

FULL WEIGHTS

Demetrius Andrade , lbs. vs. Artur Akavov , lbs.—12 rds, middleweight

Jorge Linares, 139.4 lbs. vs. Pablo Cesar Cano, 139.6 lbs.—12 rds, super lightweight

TJ Doheny, 121.75 lbs. vs. Ryohei Takahashi, 121.8 lbs.—12 rds, super bantamweight

Amanda Serrano, 114.2 lbs. vs. Eva Voraberger, 114.8 lbs.–10 rds, super flyweight

Chris Algieri, 140 lbs. vs. Daniel Gonzalez, 139.4 lbs.—10 rds, super lightweight

Julian Sosa, 147.8 lbs. vs. Dieumerci Nzau, 146 lbs.—6 rds, welterweight

Nkosi Solomon, 227.2 , lbs. vs. Rodriguez Cade, 293.2 lbs.—4 rds, heavyweight

Reshat Mati, 145.4 lbs. vs. Benjamin Borteye, 143.6 lbs.—4 rds, welterweight
 
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