American boxer Demetrius Andrade has announced that he will be leaving his World Boxing Organization 160-pound title.
The fighter, who is sometimes known as ‘Boo Boo’, said that he will be moving into the 168-pound category instead.
It is expected that there, he will take on Zach Parker, who is currently the leader in that slot and has a strong track record with 17 knockouts.
Parker is understood to have been given the right to remain in the top position for a while so that he has some opportunity to shine in the role.
However, it is not yet certain which of the two are likely to win the top spot.
Andrade is far from a shoo-in to the top slot in the category, and so it could prove to be a risky move.
Ultimately, however, Andrade is expecting to force himself into a fight with Canelo Álvarez, who is the super middleweight champion.
What the pundits think
Moves between weight categorizations often cause a flurry of interest, and can be interpreted either positively or negatively depending on the context.
The recent move by Andrade is no exception.
Some pundits have emphasized the fact that Andrade does have positive statistics on his side.
The former Olympian is currently unbeaten, and he has a record of 19 knockouts.
Some have also praised him for showing strategic nous.
Staying in his current category would see him having to take on Zhanibek Alimkhanuly.
This would be the only way that he could defend his current middleweight status, and there is no guarantee that he could win.
However, others have suggested that he has simply made this decision because any fight against Alimkhanuly would not be particularly lucrative for him.
Others have pointed out that Andrade’s current situation means that he would have to take on fights with opponents who are not necessarily up there as some of the most well-known fighters.
From a reputation perspective, this could pose problems for Andrade, who no doubt wants to be known by the fans as someone who takes on big fighters rather than ones who are hardly known.
Former professional boxer Sergio Mora, though, was positive on the whole.
He said that he thought that Andrade ought to increase his weight category – and also avoid taking on Alimkhanuly. Mora told reporters:
“It’s not only the right move to go up to 168, but not to fight his mandatory.”
He went on to reemphasize that Alimkhanuly might not be a good choice of fight for Andrade.
“I’ll tell you, man, this Zhanibek Alimkhanuly is going to be no joke to fight.”
It is worth remembering that Andrade does not only have Álvarez to think about.
If he is unable to fight against the Mexican fighter, he is expected to be able to take on other big names.
These include David Morrell, Caleb Plant and David Benavidez – though it remains to be seen exactly what combination it will be.
