by David P. Greisman
Demetrius Andrade has a world title in the junior-middleweight division — which he won against Vanes Martirosyan last year and defended against Brian Rose this past June — but he doesn’t yet have the star status of others at or around 154 pounds.
“I want the best,” he told BoxingScene.com on July 26 in Madison Square Garden, where he’d just watched middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin top Daniel Geale. “Whoever says they’re the best should fight me. If I ain’t the best, then they should be able to walk through me.”
But without the leverage, Andrade needs a way to get them to face him.
“I’ma just keep talking shit, keep being me, being a comedian and at the same time respectful,” he said. “I’m here. This is what I’ve been doing all my life. This is a job, a career, and I’m trying to be the best. Them scary-ass boys need to come to fight me.”
He named Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez and Floyd Mayweather specifically. Of Mayweather: “He got two belts at my weight class. He either got to fight at 154 or give them up, because you’re in my way, brother. What are you going to do with them? I need them,” he said. “Either give up the belts so I can go ahead on my way and live my life, too, or come to 154 and fight me.”
Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide . Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
