An astonishing four world title fights take place at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire this Friday night, with Demetrius Andrade the bill topper, defending his WBO middleweight title for a fifth time against Ireland’s Jason Quigley.
Andrade vs Quigley tops Matchroom Boxing’s latest US card, live on DAZN.
Andrade (30-0, 18 KOs) has long been touted as a pound-for-pound contender, but has struggled to find a career-defining win.
After a spell as WBO and WBA ruler at 154 pounds, Andrade moved up to middleweight in November 2019 to take on Billy Joe Saunders for the WBO belt. Saunders tested positive for a banned substance, and ‘Boo Boo’ took the vacant belt with a landslide win over Walter Kautondokwa.
Defences since have been at an unspectacular level. Wins over Artur Akavov (TKO12), Macej Sulecki (UD12), and Luke Keeler (TKO9) did little to push the Rhode Island native into the big leagues.
His last fight came in April, and Liam Williams gave the 33-year-old a serious test before going down on the cards.
Next up comes Quigley (19-1, 14 KOs), another name that shouldn’t be one to cause shockwaves should Andrade emerge victorious.
The Irishman has cut his teeth on American undercards, and his sole career loss remains a ninth round retirement defeat to Tureano Johnson in July 2019. He has won three on the spin since, the last a majority verdict win over Shane Mosley Jr in May.
Prediction: Andrade is chasing the likes of ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, so nothing less than an impressive win will do here. I think Quigley could be someone that Andrade looks good against, and the American can take the win via stoppage down the stretch.
Akhmadaliev defends against Velasquez
Stellar amateur, Murodjon Akhmadaliev makes makes a second defence of his WBA ‘Super’ and WBO super bantamweight titles, and the Uzbek takes on battle-hardened Chilean, Jose Velasquez.
Akhmadaliev (9-0, 7 KOs) became unified champion in just his eighth contest, taking a split decision win over Daniel Roman, and he defended impressively in April, stopping Ryosuke Iwasa in five.
Velasquez (29-6-2, 19 KOs) lost half a dozen fights early on in his career, but is on a 21-fight winning streak, his last success coming in May, taking a ten round win against Ariel Lopez.
Prediction: I expect Akhmadaliev to retain his unified title inside the distance, becoming the first man to stop the South American around halfway.
Martinez meets Arroyo
Julio Cesar Martinez defends his WBC flyweight title for a fourth time, against McWilliams Arroyo, in a contest that was postponed at late notice in February due to a the former suffering hand injury.
Martinez (18-1, 14 KOs) thought he had won the belt in 2019 with a ruthless win over Charlie Edwards, but he hit the Croydon man while he was down and the result was amended to a no contest.
The Mexican claimed the vacant belt with a ninth round stoppage of Cristofer Rosales four months later, and has defended against Jay Harris (UD12), Moises Calleros (TKO2) and Joel Cordova (TKO6).
Arroyo (21-4, 16 KOs) is a seasoned campaigner, and the Puerto Rican has twice failed to claim world titles, losing via split decision to Amnat Ruenroeng in 2014 for the IBF title, and by unanimous verdict to Roman Gonzalez for the WBC version in 2016.
The Puerto Rican won the interim WBC title in February, stopping Abraham Rodriguez in five.
Prediction: I expect Martinez to defend over the distance.
Reis & Camara vie for Cameron shot
At super lightweight, Kali Reis puts her WBA and IBO titles on the line, and looks to add the vacant WBO belt to her collection, as she meets Canada’s Jessica Camara, with the winner facing unified WBC and IBF champion, Chantelle Cameron for the undisputed title.
Reis (18-7-1, 5 KOs) won the vacant WBA strap in November 2020, and added the IBO version in her last fight in August last year, taking a majority verdict against Diana Prazak.
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Camara (8-2) challenges for world honours for the first time, and is coming off the back of an eye-catching points win over Heather Hardy in May.
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Prediction: I back Reis to take the win here on the cards.
Remaining Undercard
Exciting Australian heavyweight hope, Demsey McKean (19-0, 12 KOs) makes his USA debut, and he can do so with a bang with a knockout win against New Yorker, Don Haynesworth (16-7-1, 14 KOs) in their scheduled eight rounder.
💪 After sharpening the tools with the likes of @anthonyjoshua & @DillianWhyte, and now under the guidance of Tony Sims, Demsey McKean is set to make the next big step stateside 🔜 #AndradeQuigley
➡️ https://t.co/bibr0xip3j pic.twitter.com/EBOJGKxKaT
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) November 15, 2021
At super lightweight, Nelson Perez (4-0, 2 KOs) can bank an early win against Raymundo Rios Cardiel (3-7-2, 3 KOs) in their bout set for six, while at cruiserweight, Irishman Thomas O’Toole (1-0, 1 KO) can get the better of Mark Malone (1-0) possibly on the cards after four.
Khalil Coe (1-0, 1 KO) can take a stoppage win over Aaron Casper (6-4-1, 5 KOs) in their four rounder at light heavyweight.
