Having broadcast its first professional boxing event back in March of 1986, tonight, Showtime Sports is saying goodbye to the sport of boxing. The network is giving fans a memorable goodbye kiss with the Benavidez-Andrade and Benavidez-Charlo double header coming live from Las Vegas.
Marvellous Marvin Hagler defeated John Mugabi on the first boxing broadcast from a network that has become an institution in boxing, but as is life, all things must pass and tonight the network that begun its association with the sport by televising an event headlined by the legend Hagler, closes its business by giving the fans a great card headlined by two men chasing legendary status themselves.
Main Event: David Benavidez (c) vs. Demetrius Andrade
For WBC Interim Super Middleweight World Championship
This fight is officially a battle for the WBC Interim world title, but everyone knows what the real carrot for the winner is here, a showdown with boxing’s golden goose, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. Boxing fans generally don’t pay much heed to interim titles given the ridiculous number of inexplicable trinkets that each governing body seems to invent to bleed fighters for sanctioning fees, but, if the dilution of titles in boxing has had a positive impact on the sport it is that fan’s indifference to Micky Mouse belts has led to an increase in fighter’s pursuing undisputed status in their weight class. Canelo is not a fighter that needed belts to make him an attractive commercial proposition as he was already boxing’s biggest star before he collected all four super-middleweight titles on offer, but the Mexican had his sights set on legacy as well as incomprehensible wealth.
The legacy achieved by achieving undisputed status comes with the caveat that as champion of four different governing bodies you now have four different mandatory challengers and tonight in Las Vegas, two hungry, undefeated fighters are battling to become the WBC mandatory challenger to Canelo Alvarez. Both David Benavidez and Demitrius Andrade go into this fight with somewhat of a chip upon their shoulders. Benavidez can feel aggrieved that he had the WBC super-middleweight world title stripped over a suspension for cocaine use and then would come in overweight in his comeback fight not allowing him to fight for the title as a result. In the aftermath Canelo was able to go ahead and sweep up the division and it does not sit well with Benavidez that this was able to occur without the pair facing off in the ring.
Demetrius Andrade has his gripes about thus far missing out on the life changing Canelo fight. Andrade and Canelo once upon a time both resided in the light-middleweight division but despite both being champions, their paths never crossed. The same scenario played out at middleweight and despite both being promoted by Matchroom at time, a fight never materialised.
Canelo once told his contemporaries, ‘If you want to fight me, fight one another first to get there’, paraphrasing of course, but it seems like Benavidez and Andrade have taken heed. Benavidez has already just come past Caleb Plant which is a big statement in the 168-pound division and to move straight onto a fight with Andrade shows that the man that fights under the moniker ‘the Mexican Monster’ is making a clear statement about what his intentions are within the division.
The fight itself is a classic clash of styles. Benavidez is undoubtedly the more explosive and flashier fighter to watch but where he relies on aggression and power, his opponent tends to bank on his elusiveness combined with great ring IQ and an awkward style to frustrate opponents and generally overcome them. Tonight, they will both be facing into their toughest assignment yet. For many Benavidez is the favorite given his recent opposition being of a higher calibre than what Andrade has shared the ring with yet, beating the aforementioned Plant and former middleweight world champion, David Lemieux, back-to-back. Andrade on the other hand has not faced opposition quite as stiff as tonight’s opponent but has still amassed world titles in two weight classes, which again comes with caveats given the chaotic structure of boxing, but there’s no doubt denying that he is an incredibly gifted technical boxer and his style is unorthodox to boot. Benavidez will point to Andrade’s last fight against the unheralded Demond Nicholson and highlight how the referee ruled Andrade to have slipped when most commentators thought Nicholson had dropped him with a body shot, and will use this moment for inspiration. Despite Andrade being the more technically gifted boxer, Benavidez will be confident that he isn’t impenetrable and will certainly be confident of making his presence felt with his incredible power.
The biggest question about tonight’s fight is, how good is Demetrius Andrade? He has more claim to the nickname ‘boogeyman’ than anyone else in boxing in recent years, but tonight will still mark the first time in his professional career that he will have faced a former/future world champion. We’re going to find out if Andrade’s unconventional style translates to success at the highest level, if not Benavidez’ aggression and power will eventually get to him and ask the type of questions of which Andrade has never been asked before inside a boxing ring. But what if Andrade’s defense stands firm in the face of his toughest opponent, well then it will Benavidez that is asking questions of himself for the first time. Either way, this fight is intriguing on so many levels given the stylistic paradox and the rewards on the line. I feel if Andrade can avoid his patented mistake of losing concentration in the second half of the fight, he can frustrate Benavidez and earn a career best victory.
Verdict: Andrade – PTS