HBO eyes the new "Berto"

Southpaw former Olympian and current junior middleweight prospect Demetrius Andrade, 22-years-old, of Providence, R.I., will pursue his 12th victory without a loss and his ninth knockout on Jan. 7 when he makes his Las Vegas debut against Alberto Herrera (7-1-1, five KOs) of Riverside, Calif., on the undercard of a main event featuring 26-year-old Russian junior middleweight Ruslan Provodnikov (17-0, 11 KOs) against Mauricio Herrera (15-1, seven KOs) at The Cox Pavillion on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights."

"I've never even been to Las Vegas before, so, yeah, this will be my first time ever being there," said Andrade. "But Vegas is where most of the big fights are, and that's where I want to make my mark on Jan. 7. I want to let everyone know that this is where I belong."

Signed and promoted by Banner Promotions' Artie Pelullo and Star Boxing's Joe DeGuardia after a highly decorated amateur career, the 6-foot-1 Andrade turned professional in October of 2008 by stopping his first of four straight rivals in four rounds or less.

Pellulo, who also co-promotes champions Sergei Dzinziruk and Dmitry Pirog, sees Andrade as the next star of American boxing.

"Demetrius is only 22 years old, but he has made a very good transition from the amateurs to the pros. So even though he's already 11-0 with eight knockouts, he's still a young guy, and as far as we're concerned, he's on the right path," said Pelullo.

"If everything goes the way that we anticipate that it's going to go, Demetrius is going to be a star for many years to come. Right now, he's going to be the opening bout on ESPN, and this is the first show of the new year, and they chose for him to be in that position. They wanted him on that card, which says a lot about what they think of his skills."

"Let me tell you what [HBO's Sports Senior Vice President] Kery Davis always tells me, and you'll love this. After every conversation that I have with Kery Davis about [Dmitry] Pirog and [Sergei] Dzinziruk and HBO, he tells that they're waiting for Demetrius. That's what he always tells me. They know, like I know, that Demetrius is the next big American star."

GrantZilla wrote:Heh, what a shocker. HBO desperate for a black American star.

Andrade needs to keep fighting in Rhode Island and try get a fight in Boston. Boston media is huge. Get a solid fanbase.

Don't be another Paul Williams who's from Georgia and off fighting most his fights in Arizona and Cali.

Boxing doesn't need another guy like Williams and Dawson who can't draw shit.

hardcorebee24 wrote:He should be on every Manfredo card at the Dunkin Donuts center in PVD. He should be fighting on every card possible at Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun. He should be on every card available from New Bedford to Worcester. Sad thing is, he'll be on two cards a year in Vegas and that's it. What a waste for us fans.

Ali wrote:What's wrong with HBO showing interest in a former amateur world champion who represented America in the Olympics ?

Ali wrote:If HBO are just planning to give Andrade spots on undercards or on HBO BAD I won't complain.

GrantZilla wrote:Heh, what a shocker. HBO desperate for a black American star.

Andrade needs to keep fighting in Rhode Island and try get a fight in Boston. Boston media is huge. Get a solid fanbase.

Don't be another Paul Williams who's from Georgia and off fighting most his fights in Arizona and Cali.

Boxing doesn't need another guy like Williams and Dawson who can't draw shit.

Diego408 wrote:

GrantZilla wrote:Heh, what a shocker. HBO desperate for a black American star.

Andrade needs to keep fighting in Rhode Island and try get a fight in Boston. Boston media is huge. Get a solid fanbase.

Don't be another Paul Williams who's from Georgia and off fighting most his fights in Arizona and Cali.

Boxing doesn't need another guy like Williams and Dawson who can't draw shit.

Williams cant draw because hes a black fighter fighting across the country form where he originally is from. A Black fighter fighting in Lation regions isnt going very well (LA and LV all though hes had success in Altantic City). WE NEED MORE FIGHTERS LIKE WILLIAMS! We need less fighters like Berto, Dirrell and Mayweather. Unless Andrade is fighting guys like Vanes and Angulo on HBO out of thegate, anything less than that he belongs on ESPN 2 or Shobox.

Tobe wrote:

Diego408 wrote:

GrantZilla wrote:Heh, what a shocker. HBO desperate for a black American star.

Andrade needs to keep fighting in Rhode Island and try get a fight in Boston. Boston media is huge. Get a solid fanbase.

Don't be another Paul Williams who's from Georgia and off fighting most his fights in Arizona and Cali.

Boxing doesn't need another guy like Williams and Dawson who can't draw shit.

Williams cant draw because hes a black fighter fighting across the country form where he originally is from. A Black fighter fighting in Lation regions isnt going very well (LA and LV all though hes had success in Altantic City). WE NEED MORE FIGHTERS LIKE WILLIAMS! We need less fighters like Berto, Dirrell and Mayweather. Unless Andrade is fighting guys like Vanes and Angulo on HBO out of thegate, anything less than that he belongs on ESPN 2 or Shobox.

I'm not sure it has much to do with him being black, the real issue is taking a guy out of his home area and promoting him in a different part of the country. It's not rocket science that fans want to see hometown guys. And he's right that Vegas is where the big fights happen, but he's not going to be in "big fights" until he makes a name for himself. Stay home, do that and then worry about Vegas.

Tobe wrote:And he's right that Vegas is where the big fights happen, but he's not going to be in "big fights" until he makes a name for himself. Stay home, do that and then worry about Vegas.