Two years ago, women’s boxing set the standard with a number of incredible fights, including Katie Taylor-Amanda Serano, Clarressa Shields-Savannah Marshall and Alycia Baumgardner-Mikaela Mayer. This year, men’s boxing has carried the torch with a number of big matchups, including Naoya Inoue-Stephen Fulton Jr., Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. and Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia. As the year comes to a close, all eyes will shift from the lower weight classes in men’s boxing to the upper weight classes. On September 30, Jermell Charlo and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will meet in a super middleweight clash. However, the fun doesn’t stop there. Mike Coppinger of ESPN has indicated that unbeaten super middleweight contenders Demetrius Andrade and David Benavidez are nearing a deal that would have them fight in Las Vegas later this year.
David Benavidez is a former two-time world champion, who has lost his titles twice outside of the ring. Most recently, he improved his pro resume from 26-0 to 27-0 with a unanimous decision victory against former world champion Caleb Plant. The Mexican contender has called for a fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, but he has his hands tied with Jermell Charlo until October.
Demetrius Andrade has also been interested in fighting Alvarez. While he hasn’t secured a fight with the super middleweight champion, he has picked up world titles in two different weight classes. Most recently, he made his 168-pound debut with a unanimous decision victory against Demond Nicholson in January. Now, he’ll take on the toughest test of his career thus far.
