Demetrius Andrade's Promoter Details Many Options at 160
By Steve Kim
Later tonight from the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York, former world champion Demetrius Andrade (24-0, 16 KOs) faces Alantez Fox as part of the HBO 'Boxing After Dark' telecast. The bout is a middleweight contest.
So is Andrade - who still currently holds a version of the WBA 154-pound title - now a full-fledged middleweight?
"I can't even answer that 100 percent, I'm not sure," admitted Artie Pelullo, the head of Banner Promotions, which co-promotes Andrade with Star Boxing. "Right now, he's facing a very good fighter at middleweight, Fox, the WBA has now ordered (Erislandy) Lara that he has to face Demetrius who is the 'regular' champion and has to make a deal with him in 90 days. So we're not sure."
Lara is the WBA 'super' champion and he decisioned Terrell Gausha in a rather desultory affair last weekend in Brooklyn, New York.
Pelullo tells BoxingScene.com - "Right now he's testing the waters at '60. We believe he'll stay at '60 because of 'Canelo' (Saul Alvarez), (Gennady) Golovkin and because of (David) Lemieux. But if something should pop up in the meantime because we know 'Canelo' and Golovkin are fighting each other. They're out of the picture, right now. So maybe even Danny Jacobs would be a great fight for us. We'd take that tomorrow."
All the above-mentioned fighters are currently aligned with HBO, while the belt-holders at junior middleweight are associated with Showtime.
"If the Lara fight came up and because he looked so bad with the ratings, maybe we go to '54 and take that fight and go back to '60 and then fight Jacobs or Golovkin or 'Canelo' and lets see how Lemieux does on the 16th (of December, when he faces WBO middleweight titlist, Billy Joe Saunders). But to say '54 is totally out, no, I'm not sure. Let's see how things shake out in the next couple of months," stated Pelullo.