Demetrius Andrade vs Artur Akavov - January 18

[Golden Boi 360]

Middleweight world titlist Demetrius Andrade (26-0, 16 KOs), 30, of Providence, Rhode Island, will make his first defense against Artur Akavov (19-2, 8 KOs), 33, of Russia, on Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn’s Jan. 18 card (DAZN) at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, multiple sources with knowledge of the deal told ESPN on Friday. The deal, according to the sources, has been agreed to and was being put to paper with the fight likely to be announced Saturday. Andrade won a vacant belt by shutout decision over Walter Kautondokwa on Oct. 20. Akavov has won three fights in a row since losing a world title fight by competitive decision to Billy Joe Saunders in December 2016. Saunders was supposed to fight Andrade on Oct. 20 but gave up the belt rather than be stripped because of a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug

-Dan Rafael, ESPN