The TD Center was supposed to have a fight between two top rated fighters for a middleweight title on Saturday which many feel would be a very close fight. However, a positive test by one of those fighters forced the main event to be a near blowout instead.

Demetrius Andrade scored multiple knockdowns on Walter Kautondokwa en route to a unanimous decision victory to become the WBO middleweight champion after the former champion Billy Joe Saunders vacated the title due to his positive test that was administered weeks ago. Andrade and Kautondokwa were the top two contenders for the title, and Andrade was prepared to win his first title in the middleweight division. His record improves to 26-0 while Kautondokwa went to 17-1.

Andrade looked very confident in his abilities against the Namibian as he started off fast in the fight in Boston with a knockdown in the first round. It was a controversial knockdown as Kautondokwa tripped on Andrade’s foot and he was hit while down on the canvas. However, the fight continued on and Andrade saw many of the punches that Kautondokwa was throwing. In the third, Andrade caught him with a left hook that seemed to end the fight but Kautondokwa was able to get up and finish the round. The bad luck for Kautondokwa continued in the fourth as he got caught with the left hand at the two minute mark to go down to the canvas again, then one minute later the same punch dropped him for a third time in the fight.

After being way ahead in the fight after four rounds, Andrade tried to break down his opponent to get the stoppage but was unsuccessful. He was content in finishing the rest of the fight and getting the decision win to become a two division champion. The punch stats summarized a blowout as Andrade landed 30% of his punches compared to Kautondokwa’s 14% connection rating. Even with the low connect percentage by Kautondokwa, the new champion Andrade was aware of his power and boxed his way around that.

“Walter’s a strong tough guy and he can hang in there with the best,” Andrade said after the fight. “He kept coming forward and he didn’t show any weakness so I took my time and put my punches together. He was actually getting stronger as the fight went on and I just kept doing what I had to do.”

Andrade feels that he is comfortable in the middleweight division and can bang with some of the big punchers at 160. The three knockdowns that he got in this fight may have been an indication of that.

“I think I carried my power well and we’re just going to keep building and growing for the 160 lb. division and I want to fight the best out there.”

This win places Andrade among the top guys in the division. Last month, we saw Canelo Alvarez beat Gennady Golovkin by decision to win the WBC and WBA “super” middleweight titles, and next week Danny Jacobs and Sergey Derevyanchenko will fight for the IBF middleweight title. Andrade is not sure who he will go after next, but he does want to be in the ring soon.

“I want to keep active. I’m gonna sit down with Eddie Hearn and see what’s best for us.”

We will look forward to 2019 to see what that means for the new WBO champion.

Cover Photo by Ed Mulholland of Matchroom Boxing USA