Undefeated junior middleweight contender Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade (17-0, 12 KOs), a 2008 U.S. Olympian, is prepared to teach the art of boxing at the11th annual Fight To Educate on Thursday evening, September 20 at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester. Andrade will headline the Fight To Educate event for the third consecutive year. He has been matched in the 10-round main event against Alexis “Hurricane” Hlores (16-6-2, 1 KO), who has fought top 5 world-ranked James Kirkland.
“It’s great fighting again on the Fight To Educate card,” Andrade said. “Fighting in New Hampshire helps build my fan-base, plus I really enjoy helping kids through the charities that benefit from this fund-raising event. My manager, Ed Farris, is involved with the Fight To Educate people and, thanks to him, I’m fighting on this show for the third straight year.”
A slick southpaw from Providence, 2007 World amateur champion Andrade has graduated from prospect to contender, currently rated No. 4 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and No. 5 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), as well as No. 10 by the World Boxing Council (WBC) and No. 13 by the World Boxing Association (WBA).
“Boxing is about getting an opportunity to fight the right opponent at the right time,” Andrade spoke about a potential world title shot. “Timing, especially in my weight class, is very important. I’ll be ready when that time comes, but until then, I’ll keep fighting and improving. I’m not going to wait around for a world title shot or big money fight. There’s no rush. Sooner or later it will happen and I’m still young (24).”
Co-promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and Banner Promotions, Andrade has shifted training camp, as well as his home, back to Providence from Orlando, Florida, largely because of a knee injury that’s kept him out of action since his May 5 fight. Andrade registered a sensational first-round knocked out Rudy Cisneros in the ESPN FNF main event at Mohegan Sun.
“The knee area was inflamed from being overworked,” Andrade explained. “My quad-muscle and hamstring were too tight, restricting my movement. The two muscles caused tension in my knee area. I’m in New England, which is good for developing my fan-base, and close to my massage therapist. I’m not making the type money where I could fly her down to Florida to massage my muscles. I’m OK now because I had the knots in my muscles worked out.”
Cuban-born heavyweight Roberto Alfonso, a 2008 Olympian, makes his pro debut in a four-round bout against Jamal “Knockout” Woods (2-4, 2 KOs). Alfonso was the 2007 & 2008 National Champion. The 25-year-old won gold medals at the 2008 AIBA World Cup and 2007 Pan-American Games.
Undefeated junior middleweight Chris Gilbert (4-0, 3 KOs), of Windsor (VT), meets an opponent to be determined in another pro fight.
The Fight To Educate card will also feature three top New England amateur boxers. All fights and fighters are subject to change. Fight To Educate, presented this year in part by Absolute Broadcasting WGAM, The Game, 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 10 years, Fight To Educate has raised more than $500,000 in donations benefiting local New Hampshire non-profit organizations.
