BOSTON -- It was originally supposed to be the biggest fight of Demetrius Andrade's (25-0, 16 KOs) career. He was set to challenge middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders for his WBO title. Instead Saunders got popped for a banned substance and vacated his title. Now Andrade will face off against the completely unknown Walter Kautondokwa (17-0, 16 KOs) for the now vacant WBO strap, with the fight streaming live on DAZN on Oct. 20.
Andrade is a skilled fighter who plies his trade out of the southpaw stance. He works behind an excellent jab that is both accurate and crisp and he likes to leave that lead hand low. Following that jab Andrade also throws a very nice straight left hand and he is very good at fighting on the outside. While the jab and left hand are Andrade's best weapons he also finds some success with a sweeping right hook. Defensively Andrade is solid but he will reach too much at times and leave his chin exposed and he's paid the price for that, being dropped a few times in his career.
The career of Andrade has to be viewed as a disappointment. While he does have a perfect record he has also been incredibly inactive. He only fought once in 2014, 2015, and 2016 and just twice in 2017. While fighting twice a year has become more common, a fighter like Andrade, who still hasn't had a marquee win, should look to be busier. Arguably his two best opponents to date are Willie Nelson and a past his prime Vanes Martirosyan. He has had some bad luck in his career, like with Saunders not being sanctioned for this fight. However, with the skills he's displayed throughout his career he should have already had some big fights and he should be a much bigger name than he currently is.
Kautondokwa is an orthodox fighter who fights behind a high and tight guard. He does have a pretty good jab and he has shown good power throughout his career with all of his fights besides his professional debut ending in a knockout. Along with the jab, Kautondokwa also has a strong left hook that he will throw upstairs and to the body and that punch is definitely his best. His right hand is very looping and doesn't have the same kind of bite as his left hook. However, Kautondokwa also has plenty of flaws. Besides his tendency to throw looping punches he doesn't use his legs well at all and will often stand directly in front of his opponent with his earmuffs on. Making things worse is the fact that he will also back straight up at times which is always a recipe for getting knocked out.
While Andrade has never had a marquee fight he has certainly faced better opposition than Kautondokwa has. Nearly all of Kautondokwa's fights have come in his native Namibia against nameless opponents. Not only will this be a step-up for Kautondokwa but it will be a massive step-up and by far the biggest fight of his career.
This fight could easily end up being very one-sided. Kautondokwa has good power so his best chance to win this fight will be to jump all over Andrade very early and try to land something that ends things. The old saying goes that skills tell over time and Andrade is clearly the more skilled fighter of the two. Expect Andrade to be busy with his jab in an attempt to keep Kautondokwa at the end of his punches, while looking to land his straight left hand. This fight could be so one-sided that if Andrade doesn't dominate it could really hurt his career.
PREDICTION: Walter Kautondokwa has good power but too many flaws to be able to beat Demetrius Andrade. Andrade should be able to dominate this fight with his jab and not much else. Andrade could cruise to a wide unanimous decision victory but in the later rounds he will turn the pressure up and stop Kautondokwa in the eighth round.
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| Andrade landing a crisp jab |
The career of Andrade has to be viewed as a disappointment. While he does have a perfect record he has also been incredibly inactive. He only fought once in 2014, 2015, and 2016 and just twice in 2017. While fighting twice a year has become more common, a fighter like Andrade, who still hasn't had a marquee win, should look to be busier. Arguably his two best opponents to date are Willie Nelson and a past his prime Vanes Martirosyan. He has had some bad luck in his career, like with Saunders not being sanctioned for this fight. However, with the skills he's displayed throughout his career he should have already had some big fights and he should be a much bigger name than he currently is.
Kautondokwa is an orthodox fighter who fights behind a high and tight guard. He does have a pretty good jab and he has shown good power throughout his career with all of his fights besides his professional debut ending in a knockout. Along with the jab, Kautondokwa also has a strong left hook that he will throw upstairs and to the body and that punch is definitely his best. His right hand is very looping and doesn't have the same kind of bite as his left hook. However, Kautondokwa also has plenty of flaws. Besides his tendency to throw looping punches he doesn't use his legs well at all and will often stand directly in front of his opponent with his earmuffs on. Making things worse is the fact that he will also back straight up at times which is always a recipe for getting knocked out.
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| Kautondokwa celebrating a victory |
This fight could easily end up being very one-sided. Kautondokwa has good power so his best chance to win this fight will be to jump all over Andrade very early and try to land something that ends things. The old saying goes that skills tell over time and Andrade is clearly the more skilled fighter of the two. Expect Andrade to be busy with his jab in an attempt to keep Kautondokwa at the end of his punches, while looking to land his straight left hand. This fight could be so one-sided that if Andrade doesn't dominate it could really hurt his career.
PREDICTION: Walter Kautondokwa has good power but too many flaws to be able to beat Demetrius Andrade. Andrade should be able to dominate this fight with his jab and not much else. Andrade could cruise to a wide unanimous decision victory but in the later rounds he will turn the pressure up and stop Kautondokwa in the eighth round.
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