Hall of Fame broadcaster Al Bernstein has labeled the upcoming David Benavidez vs. Demetrius Andrade showdown as “a very fascinating match.”
Bernstein will be ringside to call the action on the Showtime pay per view telecast on Saturday, November 25, beginning at 8PM EST/5PM PST.
Andrade, a former world champion at junior middleweight and middleweight, finally lands the big fight that he’s been hunting for.
Benavidez, coming off a dominant win over former champion Caleb Plant, is looking for another statement making victory.
“David Benavidez has been a champion in this division and wants to get there again. Demetrius Andrade has campaigned as a super middleweight in an effort to get big fights like this one and pave his way to a title. 168 is a division with one champion but a number of terrific fighters,” Bernstein said.
“Demetrius Andrade is as clever a fighter as there is in the sport. He wants to use guile to walk Benavidez into traps so he can land his excellent step back left hand. Though he’s not known as a finisher, Andrade does have pop in his punches and has created knockdowns in many of his fights. Even one of those would put a 10-8 round on his side off the ledger.
“[Andrade’s] mission is to stay off the ropes and not allow Benavidez to trap him there. Winning rounds is something Andrade is good at, and he feels he can win enough of them to walk away with a big win. This will start with putting rounds in the bank early because Benavidez has had slow starts, such as in his match with Caleb Plant.
“David Benavidez is a volume punching machine when he gets rolling. But, even if his volume is diminished a bit, as it was against Plant for much of the fight, he can compensate with power shots that change the tenor of the fight. He did that in the Plant fight. A key to his success will be positioning himself so he can deliver his powerful left hook to the body—one of his best weapons.
“Against the 35-year-old Andrade body work can pay dividends. The Andrade he’s facing is not quite as mobile as the younger version, so cutting off the ring might be a bit easier. Once he does that he’ll need to push Andrade to the ropes where he is so adept at unleashing dazzling combinations.”