Demetrius Andrade will make his super middleweight debut on what would’ve been considered the unlikeliest of platforms this time a year ago.
BoxingScene.com has learned that Andrade has agreed to fight veteran Demond Nicholson in a 10-round bout on the Gervonta Davis-Hector Luis Garcia undercard January 7 in Washington, D.C. Andrade-Nicholson will be one of three bouts Showtime will televise as part of the Davis-Garcia undercard from Capital One Arena.
The entire pay-per-view undercard is expected to be announced Monday, before a press conference in Washington, D.C. to promote the Davis-Garcia show.
In addition to the bout between Andrade (31-0, 19 KOs) and Nicholson (26-4-1, 22 KOs), unbeaten welterweight contender Rashidi Ellis (24-0, 15 KOs), of Lynn, Massachusetts, will face Venezuelan veteran Roiman Villa (25-1, 24 KOs) in a 10-rounder. As BoxingScene.com first reported Monday morning, undefeated 147-pound contender Jaron Ennis (29-0, 27 KOs, 1 NC), of Philadelphia, is set to square off against Ukraine’s Karen Chukhadzhian (21-1, 11 KOs) in the Davis-Garcia co-feature, a 12-round fight for the IBF interim welterweight title.
Andrade, 34, will fight for the first time since his contract with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and DAZN expired. The former WBO middleweight champion hasn’t boxed since last November 19, when he stopped Ireland’s Jason Quigley (19-2, 14 KOs) in the second round at South New Hampshire University Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.
The southpaw from Providence, Rhode Island was supposed to box England’s Zach Parker for the WBO interim super middleweight title on May 21. Andrade withdrew from that bout due to a shoulder injury and Parker (22-1, 16 KOs) eventually lost to fellow Brit John Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) by fifth-round technical knockout due to a hand injury November 26 at O2 Arena in London.
Andrade relinquished his WBO middleweight title earlier this year, rather than partaking in a mandated title defense against Janibek Alimkhanuly (13-0, 8 KOs), who was then the WBO’s interim champion. Kazakhstan’s Alimkhanuly was elevated from interim champion once Andrade decided to remain in the super middleweight division.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.