Demetrius Andrade Q&A: “I’m the best at 154lbs” – Andrade vs Culcay

by boxingnews24.com

Exclusive interview by Ian Aldous: This Saturday night, Demetrius ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade (23-0) travels to Germany to challenge Jack Culcay (22-1), for the WBA world super-welterweight championship, live on Sky Sports 2HD in the UK. The former undefeated WBO champion, at the same weight, looks to regain some momentum in his career after fighting only three times since winning that belt in November 2013. Last week Demetrius took some time to talk with me over the phone about Saturday’s fight and what happened after he became world champion when he was forced to relinquish the gold.

IA: Let’s go back a little bit to the night you fought Vanes Martirosyan in late 2013 and became WBO 154lbs champ. You were down in the first after, I believe, never having been down in your pro career. What was going through your mind at that moment after you’d had a really good first round?

DA: Don’t try to rush the big shots.

IA: You won by split-decision, but it was a ridiculous decision that one of the judges gave it to Martirosyan, we all know that. What were you thinking while you were awaiting the decision? Obviously you must not have thought it was going to be close?

DA: Getting the right decision was the key. That’s pretty much all that mattered no matter how they scored it. As long as the decision came to us, that’s how I felt at that time. Looking back at it, it was like ‘wow’, they really tried to take this fight from me, because other than that first round, I don’t see him winning any rounds.

IA: You comfortably despatched Brian Rose in your one and only title defence. Rose was in tremendous form at the time, did you expect it to be as easy as it was?

DA: No fight’s easy. I work extremely hard to make fights look like the way I do when I get in the ring. He definitely was a tough guy that was giving it all that he got. With all the skills, talent and work that I put in to adjust and figure out the pieces to the puzzle, I did what I had to do to make it look that way. There’s nothing easy about a man trying to take your head off (laughs)!

IA: You were unfortunately stripped of your belt due to inactivity in 2015. Was it just a case that you couldn’t get opponents as fights with Erislandy Lara and Anthony Mundine were touted but never materialised.

DA: There was a lot of that, we couldn’t get the deals done. The whole Roc Nation thing came and put a big dampener on my career because they promised me stuff that they didn’t (give me). That caused issues and I could’ve fought during that time too. There was a lot of things, people say that they want to fight and don’t fight. At that time I wasn’t in the business as far as knowing all the paperwork like I do now, because I have my own promoter’s license and I’m a co-promoter with Star Boxing and Banner Promotions right now to try to figure out how to make things better. We’re together on an equal playing field. We know what’s going on and there’s none of that stuff like there used to be.

IA: Now you’ve got the big fight in Germany on Saturday. Tell me a little about the rivalry that you and Culcay have from the amateur game. Am I right in saying that you beat him as an amateur?

DA: Yeah, we fought in 2007 at the World Championships in the United States and that was for me to earn a spot to go to the Olympics, and nobody was getting in my way then and nobody’s going to get in my way now. I’m going over there to his backyard and I’m picking up that belt as I come through because Jack Culcay is not stopping this train, I’ll tell you that.

IA: When do you plan on arriving in Germany and have you taken any advice from fighters who’ve travelled out to Europe for fights before?

DA: I believe I’ll be there on Sunday or Monday and the best advice is to use my right hand, use my left hand, and don’t get hit.

IA: You’ve proved to be too slick for all your opponents so far, do you feel you’ll be too slick for Jack?

DA: You know, I’m not no fool, I’m not going to say I don’t study an opponent. I actually study the opponent because at the end of the day, the game plan does change when you do get hit and everybody does something different when you’re fighting a different type of fighter. But I don’t think there’s anything he’s going to be able to do to get to me that I will allow him to do. And at the end of the day I think I’ve got the best jab in the world.

IA: Do you think he’s fought anyone in the professional ranks who’s close to being as good as you?

DA: I didn’t look up his résumé as far as the characters that he’s fought but I’m the best in the world! I’m the best at 154lbs so it doesn’t matter who he fought, how he fought them, he hasn’t fought somebody like me.

IA: Does a hometown decision worry you? A lot of places are known for it but Germany is particularly renowned for it.

DA: Like I said, you know I got this left hand, I got this right hand and I plan on not getting hit and I’m going to make sure we go home with that victory, one way or another.

IA: This fight should have happened last year but obviously it didn’t, what happened there? It sounded like they were making you jump through hoops.

DA: Yeah, definitely. I mean, there was stuff we couldn’t talk about but they was trying to do some crazy stuff, like they wanted me to go to a press conference all the way out there (in Germany) with one day notice or something and if I missed it I was getting fined pretty much $100,000. I couldn’t wear the gloves that I wear and stuff like that, then we did some background research and the gloves they didn’t want me to wear, they let everybody else wear.

Jack Culcay vs. Demetrius Andrade for the WBA world super-welterweight championship will be shown live on Sky Sports 2HD in the UK on Saturday night at 9pm.