Demetrius Andrade vs. Vanes Martirosyan: Preview and Prediction for Title Fight
Demetrius Andrade vs. Vanes Martirosyan will be the opening contest on an HBO televised card this Saturday night, and the vacant WBO Junior Middleweight Championship will be on the line.
Andrade is a former Olympian who represented the United States at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. He turned pro shortly after and established himself as a pretty decent prospect with 19 straight wins to start his career. This is a big moment for him, not just because it's his first world title challenge, but because he'll also be facing his toughest opponent to date.
Martirosyan, like his opponent, is also a former Olympian, but he represented the United States four years earlier at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens. He is also undefeated and has a tricky style. But, also like his opponent, he's been managed carefully to this point in his career. He lacks a signature win, and he will be fighting for his first world title.
It'll be a crossroads fight for two young, undefeated contenders on Saturday night, and this is your complete preview and prediction for Andrade vs. Martirosyan!
Tale of the Tape
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Demetrius Andrade is the younger and less experienced fighter coming into the ring on Saturday night. He has a tricky southpaw style, but he will be facing the most skilled opponent of his career.
Vanes Martirosyan has more than double the amount of in-ring experience, but he hasn't faced that much higher caliber of opponent. Neither guy has overwhelming power—both have knockout percentages in the 60's—but Martirosyan would seem to land the heavier punches.
Record | Demetrius Andrade 19-0, 13 KO | Vanes Martirosyan 32-0-1, 21 KO |
| Age | 25 | 27 |
| Height | 6'1" | 6'0" |
| Reach | Unlisted | 73" |
| Weight | 154.25 (Last Fight) | 154.75 (Last Fight) |
| Stance | Southpaw | Orthodox |
| Hometown | Providence, Rhode Island | Abovyan, Armenia |
| Rounds Boxed | 74 | 160 |
Main Storylines
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Demetrius Andrade will be making his first challenge for a world championship at the age of 25 despite having fought a collection of absolute nobodies. Don't believe me? Take a look for yourself. In his last fight, he fought Freddy Hernandez, who is good not great, but even he entered the fight having lost two of his last three.
There is no doubt that Andrade has talent, and he's exhibited flashes of potential in the ring. But he's been brought along at something closely resembling a snail's pace. And that might even be too generous. It's easy to say that he's taking a gigantic leap in competition level on Saturday night, and he'll either prove he belongs, or he'll get exposed.
Vanes Martirosyan has a very tricky style that isn't the most aesthetically pleasing to watch. For further proof, see his fight from earlier this year against fellow junior middleweight contender Erislandy Lara. That fight was pretty ugly, and it ended after a headbutt opened a nasty gash on Martirosyan's head. That said, it was pretty even at the time of the stoppage with each fighter having the support of one judge and the third scoring it a draw.
The California-based fighter of Armenian descent has struggled to emerge from the shadows in the crowded junior middleweight division. This is his second chance to do so, and his first chance to capture a world title, and he'll need to make the best of it. He hasn't faced the best class of fighters either, and, the Lara bout notwithstanding, is largely untested.
Strengths
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Demetrius Andrade possesses great physical tools. He's an extremely athletic fighter and fights out of a southpaw stance. He has a good, rangy and crisp right jab that he effectively utilizes to control the distance of the fight, and he has good speed and decent punching power.
It's hard to assess how high his ceiling can be—this is just his second fight against an opponent beyond the journeyman level—but he certainly has talent. He can box and he can punch, but he's much more comfortable, and effective, in a boxing match.
Andrade has good foot and hand movement and has proven to be difficult to hit clean thus far in his young professional career.
Vanes Martirosyan is also a boxer-puncher type fighter who likes to keep the fight at distance. He works behind his jab, and his best punch is the right hand straight up the middle. His hands are fast, and he has the footwork to create difficult angles for his opponent.
He's had 33 professional fights and scored wins over gatekeepers Saul Roman and former 154-pound champion Kassim Ouma. It hasn't exactly been a murderers row, but "Nightmare" isn't a pushover, and his boxing skill makes him a tricky opponent.
Martirosyan was fighting the much-hyped Erislandy Lara on pretty even terms before a cut caused a stoppage and technical draw in Round 9. It's true that Lara was coming on in the fight, but he's clearly the best opponent either man has faced.
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Weaknesses
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Demetrius Andrade turned professional with a lot of hype, but he's come along very slowly. Granted, he's only 25 years old, but he hasn't really fought anyone beyond the level of journeyman. His best opponent to date—Freddy Hernandez—came into the bout having lost two of three, and has lost two straight since the defeat against Andrade.
When boxing promoters and managers consistently keep throwing a fighter with this much potential—and this many people believing he has a chance to be a very good fighter—into the ring with subpar opposition, it raises questions. This kid is wholly untested and has exhibited some technical flaws that could hamper him against a solid boxer.
Vanes Martirosyan has more professional fights, and rounds, than Andrade, and he, too, has struggled to rise above the label of "prospect" and fight meaningful fights. Some of that is his fault and some of it is not. He has a tricky, and not overly fun style. Remember, there's a reason that HBO was initially reluctant to televise this fight, and not because it'd be too exciting.
Martirosyan isn't the greatest defensive fighter, and he can definitely be hit. Compounding that problem, he's known for sometimes letting himself settle into lulls and not throwing enough punches. If he allows Andrade to seize the initiative, he could be in trouble.
Demetrius Andrade Will Win If...
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Demetrius Andrade is taking a big step up in competition, and he'll need to be at his best on Saturday night in order to emerge as the new WBO Junior Middleweight Champion.
He's a slick boxer, and he has been toting around a ton of potential from the minute he turned pro after the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Andrade will need to get off first and use his boxing ability to keep Vanes Martirosyan from getting set. He should use his jab as often as possible to disrupt and prevent his opponent from throwing his big right hand, which is the best single punch in the fight.
Martirosyan has a bad tendency to be inactive in key points during the fight, and Andrade should maintain a high activity rate in order to win rounds and force him on the defensive.
If he boxes well from distance, gets off first and then gets out, Andrade can win this fight.
Vanes Martirosyan Will Win If...
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Vanes Martirosyan needs to be active, and he needs to make sure that he doesn't allow Demetrius Andrade to steal rounds from him simply because Martirosyan isn't throwing enough punches.
That's why the key to this fight for Vanes comes down to one word: aggression.
He needs to pressure Andrade, force him to fight backing up and get on the inside and make him fight more than he's comfortable. Martirosyan has a big right hand, but that does him no good if he cannot land it. If he allows his opponent to stick and move without pressuring him, he won't be able to land that punch, and he could find himself on the short end of a decision.
This is a big shot on a big stage, and he might not get another one in a hurry. Martirosyan needs to fight like he means it, and he needs to put a lot of pressure on Andrade to win.
And the Winner Will Be...
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Expect an ugly, close and hard-to-score opening contest on Saturday night. Neither guy has an exciting, or at times even watchable, style and HBO will definitely be hoping the promised action of Donaire vs. Darchinyan and Martinez vs. Garcia will make up for it.
This has all the makings of a split-decision type verdict with scorecards—from both judges and media—being all over the map. It could be a fight with a lot of close, hard-to-score rounds where neither guy puts their stamp on the fight. In fact, it could be downright ugly.
But there's something about Demetrius Andrade's slow development that makes me wonder. His potential is much discussed, but he's been fed a steady diet of bad fighters. You can say much the same thing about Vanes Martirosyan, but at least he faced Erislandy Lara, and he did well until the fight was stopped and both men had to settle for a technical draw.
Martirosyan should have just enough in this fight to overcome Andrade and capture his first world title. He's stronger and has more experience, and something seems to make sense about him winning a split-decision.
Prediction: Martirosyan SD 12 Andrade (115-113)
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