Tim Bradley never quite understood it. For as long as he could remember, Demetrius Andrade was an incredible fighter. He dominated everyone at 154 pounds and did much of the same at 160. He hasn’t fought the best fighters around, but Bradley has always been impressed with his ability to do just about everything in the ring.
Bradley has banged the drum for years. Finally, however, an elite-level fighter has listened to Bradley loud and clear.
David Benavidez was fresh off the biggest win of his career, a close decision over Caleb Plant. The 26-year-old liked the feeling of being a pay-per-view headliner. He also enjoyed fighting someone who was on his level.
With most of the top names at 168-pounds already occupied, Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) raised his hand. Benavidez, never willing to ignore someone who’s openly calling him out, happily took him up on his offer.
On November 25th, in Las Vegas, Nevada, the two will officially get it on. In Bradley’s opinion, there’s a lot on the line for the former two-division champ. Although he’s a bit older, he now has the chance to prove why top-tier fighters haven’t been so gung-ho about fighting him.
“Andrade gets to show what he really is and why people have been avoiding him for years,” Bradley admitted on ProBox TV.
Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) has gotten a ton of hoopla. Most point to his ubiquitous offense and endless gas tank. Those two attributes alone have led to two separate world title reigns and universal respect as one of the best fighters on the planet.
Bradley gushes over Benavidez as well, at least to a certain extent. By and large, the Hall of Famer isn’t getting caught up in what the WBC interim title holder does well. Instead, he broke down tape and pulled out his red pen. By the time he looked up, he noticed that he had written down a long list of things that Benavidez does wrong.
“Benavidez is a fighter that’s getting a lot of clout. We call him the monster but as I watch him on film, I see a lot of opportunities where a guy with the smarts of Andrade can make him pay.”
Bradley didn’t want to completely tear Benavidez down. After all, the former two-division champ sincerely likes him as a fighter. With that said, he does have certain things that he needs to address. If he doesn’t, and he simply waltzes to the ring thinking that he’ll be able to do the same ole same ole to lead him to victory, he has another thing coming.
“I think his biggest issue in this fight is gonna be his footwork. I feel as if he has terrible footwork, he squares up often. I think a fighter with Andrade’s skill set and experience, I think he’s gonna be able to expose that. I think we’re gonna have to see a better version of Benavidez if he’s gonna pull off this win.”