By Norm Frauenheim –
LAS VEGAS – He has a curious nickname. He’s Boo Boo.
Insert punch line here, and many do in a business surrounded by over-the-top characters whose nicknames are a mix of fantasy, fear and comic-book super-hero.
It’s just one piece in the puzzle that is Demetrius Andrade, who says he’s been Boo Boo since he was a daredevil kid climbing trees and jumping off roofs.
He’s something of an enigma, but that might be exactly what makes him a threat to David Benavidez, who now calls himself The Monster. Nothing curious about that one. Interpret at your own risk.
But Andrade doesn’t think much of The Monster moniker, one given to Benavidez by Mike Tyson on his podcast. In fact, Andrade makes a joke out of it.
“Like I said, Mike was real, real high that day,’’ Andrade said at a public workout a few days before his super-middleweight date with Benavidez Saturday night at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena in Showtime’s final pay-per-view bout.
It’s funny and, some say, a foolish boo-boo from Andrade, a former junior-middleweight and middleweight champion who is fighting at 168 pounds for only the second time.
Against the bigger and younger Benavidez, there’s talk and odds – nearly 4-to-1 against Andrade – that this time the daredevil still in the 35-year-old fighter is on the precarious edge of a nasty fall.
But the problem with that argument is in Andrade’s record. He’s unbeaten, 32-0 with 19 knockouts. It’s a record and something of a riddle.
Andrade’s pro career doesn’t really include any defining moments, despite titles at 154 and 160 pounds. It’s unblemished and in some ways unremarkable for all things that haven’t happened.
Mostly, the 2008 Olympian has been elusive. The left-hander is hard to hit and harder to figure out. For the 26-year-old Benavidez and just about any other fighter, the unknown is often the biggest danger.
It’s no coincidence, perhaps, that Andrade is called the most-avoided fighter of his generation. The best in his time and perhaps any other time won’t fight what they don’t know. They won’t take on a riddle they can’t solve. So far, there aren’t any solutions. That’s what the 0 on the right side of Andrade’s ledger says.
Despite his many years in the pro ring, surprise appears to be Andrade’s best weapon against the aggressive Benavidez, also unbeaten (27-0, 23 KOs), in a fight that could lead to a big pay-day against Canelo Alvarez.
“I think he’s going to be very surprised,’’ Andrade says, almost cryptically. “I have the source. I can frustrate him, set traps and break him down while also hitting him.’’
The biggest question, however is time.
“Father Time beats all,’’ Andrade said.
Can Andrade 35-year-old legs carry him out of danger, especially in the later rounds. Benavidez has been at his punishing best from the eighth through the 12th.
The Phoenix-born Benavidez is confident he can overwhelm Andrade – stop him – in part because Andrade won’t have room to run. Benavidez says a 22-by-22-foot ring was a factor in his inability to stop Caleb Plant last March. He won a unanimous decision. Plant, he says, was able to elude some of his lethal pressure in a bigger ring.
Plant demanded and got some extra canvas, 22-by-22 feet instead of the traditional 20-by-20 in contract negotiations.
“I’m going to strike whenever there’s an opportunity,’’ Benavidez said.
But, Andrade repeated, he’ll be surprised, suggesting that he’ll never get that opportunity.
Nobody ever has.
