Young professor Demetrius Andrade teaching class at 10th annual Fight To Educate
World Boxing Council (“WBC”) No. 14-rated Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade (14-0, 9 KOs) takes on two-time world title challenger Saul “Baby” Duran (38-18-2, 31 KOs), headlining the 10th annual Fight To Educate, at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Andrade, fighting out of Providence, is coming off of an impressive victory by unanimous 10-round decision this past August 19th against The Contender, Season 2 winner Grady Brewer, winning nine of 10 rounds on all three of the judges’ scorecards.
The 23-year-old Andrade, who was a member of the 2088 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team, as well as the AIBA world champion, is ready to get back in the ring a little more than a month after his last fight. “I need to stay active,” Andrade said. “Because I’m not sure about plans to fight the rest of the year with the holidays, I felt this fight was a good opportunity for me. I’m right where I wanted to be at this stage of my career, rated by the WBC, and the road has led me back to Manchester. The Fight To Educate is a great cause and another chance for me to fight locally and build-up my fan base.”
A year ago, the gifted light middleweight fought on the Fight To Educate card, stopping Dave Sanders in the second round. The experienced Duran has fought 340 rounds as a pro during his 18-year career, compared to 56 in three years, and the tough Mexican fighter has been in the ring with some great boxers. In 1997, Saul extended Stevie Johnston the full 12-rounds in their WBC lightweight title bout, and 1 ½ years later he fought in Japan to controversial draw versus World Boxing Association (“WBA”) champion Takanori Hatakeyama. Duran holds notable wins against Hector Camacho and Wilfredo Ruiz, and also fought a draw with Ener Julio.
“At this stage of my career,” Andrade explained, “each fight should be a learning experience for me. I didn’t want to fight somebody I’d just come in the ring and knock out quickly. Duran has fought a lot of great guys and I’m going to gain a lot of valuable experience fighting him.”
Another familiar figure in action next Wednesday will be 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Alternate Danny O’Connor (14-1, 3 KOs), who squares-off against dangerous light welterweight Jamal Del Cid (7-5, 3 KOs) in the six-round co-feature. The popular Irish-American O’Connor made his pro debut in the 2008 Fight To Educate card and the Framingham (Mass.) light welterweight has become a fixture in Manchester with this being his fourth straight year fighting in the charity fundraiser event.
Upset specialist Jose “Stinger” Medina (14-9-1, 6 KOs), from Tilton (NH), will also be in action versus an opponent to be determined in a six-round light middleweight bout. Medina, a native of Mexico, is coming off a controversial eight-round draw against former world champion Joachim Alcine, in which most observers felt Medina deserved a victory. In January, Medina scored a shocking fourth-round knockout of 17-1 Isaac Rodrigues.
Fighting on the undercard in four-round matches are Claremont (NH) lightweight Dan Powers (3-0, 2 KOs) vs. Luis Rosario, and Windsor (VT) welterweight Chris Gilbert (1-0, 1 KO) vs. Noel Garcia.
Fight To Educate is a unique charity event that combines a love of sports with the vision of assisting children and seniors in need, who with fundraisers like this could be ‘down for the count.’ During the past nine years, Fight To Educate has raised more than $500,000 in donations benefitting local New Hampshire non-profit organizations.
Proceeds from the 10th annual Fight To Educate will benefit SEE Science Center (www.see-sciencecenter.org), The Bobby Stephens Fund for Education (www.stepheneducationfund.com), and St. Joseph Community Services/Meals on Wheels (www.mealsonwheelsnh.org).
Tickets, priced at $50.00 and $25.00 (general admission), are available to purchase by going online at www.ticketmaster.com, calling Ticketmaster at 800.745.3000, or at the Verizon Wireless Arena Box Office or any Ticketmaster location.
