FORMER OLYMPIAN ANDRADE FACES TEST ON SHOWBOX
Demetrius Andrade
Los Angeles, CA– 2011 “Trainer of The Year” Virgil Hunter has an exciting addition to his stable in 2007 amateur world champion and 2008 U.S. Olympian Demetrius Andrade (18-0, 13 KOs) making his debut with Hunter tonight on Showtime’s Sho Box. Andrade, a Rhode Island native has taken his fair share of criticism. Why? Cause he’s been a pro since 2008 and has yet to face a serious opponent.
SHOW BOX TONIGHT ON SHOWTIME
This evening on Showbox, live from the Paramount Theatre in Huntington, New York, the 154 pounder squares off with battle tested veteran Freddie Hernandez (30-3, 20 KOs). The Rhode Island southpaw has a good blend of speed and power, having stopped all three of his 2011 foes in less than three rounds in. If he’s the real deal as many believe this amateur star to be, Andrade should vanquish Hernandez with relative ease.
ESPN PUTS TOGETHER CROSSROADS MAIN EVENT
Middleweight journeyman and former Contender reality TV show participant Brian Vera (21-6, 12 KOs) faces former WBO junior middleweight (154) champion Serhiy Dzsinziruk (37-1-1, 24 KOs) of Ukraine. Vera comes in the brawler while the 35 year old Dzsinziruk is the boxer on the move. The achilles heel here is age. The Ukrainian fighter is the naturally smaller man as well as older than Vera. While a 12 rounder favors the brawler, the fight looks even on paper. Vera has got a good chin and will walk through fire to get his shots off. Dzsinziruk’s relative inactivity (3 fights in last 4 years) is a question mark. Solid crossroads battle.
SHOWTIME SATURDAY HAS ARGENTINE ON TOP
Hard luck “interim” WBC light welterweight (140) belt holder Lucas Matthysse (32-2, 30 KOs) goes head to head with much improved late sub Mike Dallas Jr. (19-2, 8 KOs). On paper this appears to be a slaughter.
“It’s Showtime”
The Argentine fighter is one of the hardest punchers in boxing as well as being one of the most avoided. Dallas is filling in for lightweight (135) contender Hank Lundy (22-2-1, 11 KOs) who was denied the opportunity to fight due to a contract dispute. That being said, Lucas is a slick boxer who appears to have improved under the tutelage of new trainer Virgil Hunter. Being a huge underdog gives him added motivation. I expect Dallas to give a good account of himself as he looked polished when seeing him live at Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, CA in a June 2012 main event on ESPN Friday Night Fights. This however is a major step up in class from beating Javier Castro (27-5, 22 KOs) who he impressively stopped in six rounds last time out. Being that he is a natural 140 lbs., he might give Matthysse a tougher test than Lundy. This will be the Bakersfield, CA native’s fourth bout under the guidance of Hunter. Lucas is on a roll so it’s hard to pick against him here even though Dallas has shown considerable improvement from his two defeats in 2011.
Kevin Perry