ANDRADE RETURNS WITH A BANG
Photo by Marilyn Paulino/RBRBoxing
Former WBO World Jr. Middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade (22-0, 15 KOs) stopped Argentinian Dario Fabian Pucheta (20-3) at the 50-second mark of the second round Saturday night, October 17th, at Mohegan Sun Arena to capture the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) International Junior Middleweight Title
Fighting for the first time in 16 months, Andrade – the former world title-holder made quick work of Pucheta, sending him to the canvas twice in the opening round, the first time courtesy of a straight left hand and again just seconds later with a right uppercut. Already on wobbly legs, Pucheta gave it a go in the second round, but Andrade laid him out flat with another straight left, sending the pro-Andrade crowd into an uproar.
Andrade will now vault back into the WBO rankings, where he says he’s ready for the “big boys” at 154 pounds, whether that’s WBC middleweight champ Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, World Boxing Association (WBA) junior middleweight champion Erislandy Lara, or anybody else in that weight class.
“No disrespect to any fighter because anyone who gets in that ring, I have high respect for, but it’s time for me to showcase what I really have against the guys everyone thinks is No. 1.”
“This layoff, I just took the time to get better physically, spiritually, mentally, just all around, to be better myself,” he said. “Once I found out I was fighting October 17th, I always keep the synthetic oil in, but I had to get the motors running again. Here we go, man.”
Star Boxing’s Joe DeGuardia who co-promotes Andrade with Banner Promotions had this to say about Demetrius’ performance “You would have never known this kid was away from the ring for 16 months which just proves how talented he is. He destroyed a guy who has never been off his feet and had a respectable reputation. Artie and I are looking forward to getting Demetrius back to his rightful place among boxing’s elite”.
Also the night before Demetrius Andrade’s win at Mohegan Sun, another Star Boxing fighter Raymond Serrano (21-3 9KO) was in action. Serrano was the co-feature on TruTV at the Aviator in Brooklyn, NY. Serrano was not as fortunate as Andrade as Serrano lost a hard fought decision against undefeated Brad Solomon (26-0 9KO) in a 10 round Welterweight contest.
Star Boxing’s next event will be this Saturday, October 24th at the one of the most exciting venues in boxing, The Paramount, in Huntington, NY where Star’s Rockin’ Fights 21 series continues. The Main Event features undefeated IBO Super Middleweight World Champion, Zac Dunn (18-0 15 KO’s), as the Australian makes his New York and USA debut.
