Billy Joe Saunders vs. Demetrius Andrade Fight Preview and Prediction to Win
When: Saturday, October 20, 2018
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
TV: DAZN
Weight Class: Middleweight (160 Pounds)
Titles: WBO World Middleweight Title
By Loot, Boxing Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Billy Joe Saunders, 26-0 (12 KOs), Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Vs.
Demetrius Andrade, 25-0 (16 KOs), Providence, Rhode Island
Betting Odds: Billy Joe Saunders (-185), Demetrius Andrade (+160)
Billy Joe Saunders defends his middleweight title belt against former world champion Demetrius Andrade on October 20 in Boston. It's a battle of unbeatens and two well-regarded battlers. The champion is England's 29-year old Saunders, a smooth boxing maestro last seen in the ring pitching a shutout over noted puncher David Lemieux. He is striving to be the best in the world and a win over the unbeaten Andrade would push him closer to that. Alas, Andrade is a supremely-gifted boxer also looking to make a splash at age 30.
These guys make you long for the fighters of old when it comes to activity. Saunders last fought in December of last year and considering all the buzz he generated in his clinic over Lemieux, you'd think he would be looking to further his position sooner. Andrade last fought in October of 2017, which isn't even that long for one of the sport's scarcer big talents. Some might be caught by surprise that Andrade has now been a pro for ten years!
With Andrade, the inactivity has made an impact in many different ways. For a guy to be in his prime and fight so infrequently is a blinding shame. Granted, we live in a day where it's not odd for a fighter to be off for a year. Andrade takes it to a different level and with five fights since 2013; he currently has almost no heat around his name. But that also serves another potential purpose. With him so out of the public view, while still being a huge handful in the ring, maybe the invisibility has made him a high-value choice in a spot like this.
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Despite the unevenness of his career, Andrade's track-record is not without merit. It's certainly a little thin for a ten-year unbeaten former champion, particularly such a great amateur who went to the Olympics. In 2013, he was the first to defeat Vanes Martirosyan. He knocked out Willie Nelson, a good junior middleweight. But all told, considering his talents, the inactivity and bottom-line results of his career leave a lot to be desired. But make no mistake—dicey track record, inactivity, and unfulfilled promise aside, Andrade is a mature, polished, and talented southpaw with size, skills, and fire.
Saunders, 29, has been in more high-profile spots as of late. He is an inch shorter than Andrade with a few inches less in reach, but he has good size for 160 pounds. He oozes class in the ring with a slick style and sound boxing with enough flash to catch the eye. With the domestic scene in the UK at and around his weight having undergone a renaissance in recent years, he fought a lot of toughies on the way up. Wins over Gary "Spike" O'Sullivan and Chris Eubank, Jr. set him apart from the pack. A decision win over Andy Lee earned him the WBO belt in 2015, with three dominant defenses that have followed.
Saunders is also a southpaw, with a similar approach as Andrade, with a tendency for more of an outside-style. And while Andrade has been biding his time and embroiled in different issues with management and postponed fights, Saunders has been mixing it up with some of the best middleweights around. We saw what Lemieux did to Spike O'Sullivan on the Canelo-GGG undercard, which makes the fact that Saunders toyed with him even more impressive.
Some of us also saw that video of Saunders and an accomplice messing with a crackhead on the street and it makes you wonder what's really going on. If anything, it showed a complete lack of self-awareness, a man of nearly 30 years acting like a petulant adolescent. Some of us have heard some things about his lifestyle, as he maybe pushes the envelope a bit in his personal life. Andrade is taking this seriously by all accounts and is in tremendous condition as he finally gets a sniff at the elusive big-time. And Saunders had better be taking this seriously.
It's just that with that Saunders news and things like Andrade's inactivity, a lot of focus could be on what's going on outside the ring. This fight is happening inside the ring. And in the ring, Saunders boxes beautifully, There's a cleanness to it, as he has an innate way to make himself seem like the general in there. He has great reflexes and speed, with enough power to make it all work, while not being a terribly-feared power-hitter. His legs are that of a thoroughbred and despite his good looks and long-range style, there is a definite toughness there, along with a chip on his shoulder, as he delights in embarrassing his opponents when he can.
Andrade is a versatile sort. Though much of his work is at 154 pounds, he has good size and recent footage shows a lean, big middleweight. He has the amateur background that enables him to depend on more of a stick-and-move style, but he's also talented more in-close. He's been boxing for longer than he wasn't boxing, with a naturalness that goes along with it. Who knows? Maybe all that inactivity has left him nice, fresh, and preserved for this battle.
With Andrade so lost in the muck with so little recent history to go off of, one could easily justify a stance on the favored Saunders. The fact is that sharpness figures to be a key part of this battle, making the inactivity an issue. I like the location of the fight for the Providence fighter Andrade, with this being close at the Garden in Boston. Saunders, though, figures to get a lot of support, as well. I've always regarded Andrade as a major talent who never got his shot and at this price; I find it hard to say no, though he certainly has his work cut out for him. I'm going with Demetrius Andrade.
Loot's Pick to Win the Fight: I'm betting on Demetrius Andrade at +160. Did you know... that you could be wagering on this fight at discounted odds? There's a better than good chance that you're laying inflated odds with your book. Stop overpaying TODAY by making the switch to 5Dimes Sportsbook! You will be so glad that you did!
