By Chris Glover

Friday evening sees a World Championship triple header from Madison Square Garden, presented by Matchroom Boxing USA, live on DAZN and Sky Sports in the UK.

Topping the bill is heralded 2 Weight World Champion and current WBO World Middleweight Champion Demetrius Andrade, who faces tough Russian and former opponent of Billy Joe Saunders, Artur Akavov.

Andrade will be aiming to put on a show that will establish him as the elite of the Middleweight division, and even hinted at an eventual move up to 168. Andrade opened up at the pre-fight press conference, “It’s a long time since I’ve been active, and it’s great to be back in the ring.

The Rhode Island native continued, “I’ll take every opportunity that comes my way and I believe I am the best talent out there at 54, 60 and maybe even 68.

“This Friday night you will all get a taste of what Demetrius Andrade is all about when I take care of business."

Promoter Eddie Hearn opened up on his charge Andrade. He said, “We all knew Andrade was going to win the World title in Boston and that’s what he did.

“He needs to take care of business Friday and then there are some mouth-watering fights out there for him in the Middleweight Division.

Hearn continued, “The likes of Danny Jacobs, Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin are fights that can all happen this year. When we signed Andrade we wanted to keep him active and get him ready for these big fights and that is what has happened.”

The supporting card is a stacked on this coming Friday evening, and see’s Ireland’s TJ Doheny defend his World Super Bantamweight Champion against Japan’s Ryohei Takashi. Jorge Linares looks to build towards a world title in a fourth different weight class, as he squares off against the always entertaining Pablo Cesar Cano for the WBC Silver Super Lightweight title.

Brooklyn’s Amanda Serreno contests the vacant WBO World Super Flyweight title against Eva Voraberger as she looks to establish herself on the world scene and as an ambassador for female boxing in the USA.

In a fight that could steal the show, Long Island’s Chris Algieri squares off against stablemate Daniel Gonzalez as the pair look to land a shot at a World Super Lightweight title in 2019. The winner of this one will likely be in line to face current WBO World Champion Maurice Hooker. 

Eddie Hearn summed up his thoughts on what will transpire this coming Friday evening. The British based Promoter said, “It’s a stacked card full of top quality, entertaining fights, that have all the ingredients for a great night of boxing this coming Friday at Madison Square Garden.”