PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- It will be a homecoming fight for WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade on June 29. Andrade, who will be making the second defense of that title, will be challenged by Maciej Sulecki on DAZN as he looks to continue raising his profile in an attempt to secure a fight with the money man in boxing, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.
There is no questioning the offensive skills of Andrade (27-0, 17 KOs). He is a long fighter with plenty of skills that make him dangerous on the outside. He has an excellent jab that allows him to control the distance and find the range for his power punches. Those power punches come in the form of a solid right hook and a left hand he likes to use in many different ways. He isn't the biggest puncher and he doesn't have the fastest hands but his power and speed are good enough that he can seemingly hang with the best the division has to offer. While Andrade can put in some good work to the body on the inside, he's definitely at his best when he can sharp shoot from the outside.
If you can't question Andrade's skills you can certainly question some of his career decisions and willingness to get in the ring with the best. In 2013 Andrade beat Vanes Martirosyan which, at the time, was the biggest win of his career. Many thought he would step up to the next level after that victory. Instead, Andrade fought just once a year in 2014, 2015, and 2016. To make matters worse, none of the opponents he faced was better than Martirosyan. After fighting twice in 2017 against solid, but far from elite competition, Andrade went back to his old ways, fighting just once in 2018. Instead of Martirosyan being a career changing win for Andrade he remains the best opponent he's faced to date and that fight happened six years ago. Now certainly Andrade has had some bad luck, most notably when he was set to faced Billy Joe Saunders only to have that fight fall apart after Saunders tested positive for a banned substance. Still, Andrade should have been facing better opposition at this point in his career.
Sulecki (28-1, 11 KOs) is a solid fighter who doesn't seem to do anything spectacularly. His jab is pretty good and he follows it with a punishing right hand. Sulecki is at his best on the inside where he can rough things up. His left hook is a decent punch but he lacks top shelf power or speed. When Sulecki is on the outside he tends to stand right in front of his opponent and because of that he's been dropped multiple times. The Polish pugilist is probably going to have a tough time getting inside on Andrade but if he can he could find success with his bruising right hand.
Similarly to Andrade, Sulecki's resume isn't filled with elite names. His best wins have come against fighters like Hugo Centeno Jr., Jack Culcay, and Gabriel Rosado. The biggest fight of Sulecki's career came in 2018 when he took on Daniel Jacobs but he was dropped late in that fight and lost on the cards by the way of unanimous decision. Now Sulecki will face the second best opponent of his career but this time he hopes the outcome is different.
This fight should come down to distance. Sulecki isn't very slick and if he can't get inside he is going to get picked apart by Andrade. For Sulecki to find any success he will have to get in the pocket and stay there and land plenty of heavy right hands. Andrade needs to keep Sulecki on the outside and at the end of his punches. Andrade is the slicker fighter and has better had speed and power. Look for the champion to really stay busy with his jab which will keep Sulecki on the outside where Andrade can tee-off on him.
PREDICTION: Maciej Sulecki is a fine fighter but being a fine fighter won't be enough to beat Demetrius Andrade. Andrade is better in nearly every category and while Sulecki will be stubborn and stick around for the entirety of the fight, he won't do enough to win. Andrade might not look spectacular but he will look good and he will win this fight by the way of unanimous decision.
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| Andrade, catching Artur Akavov with a straight left hand |
If you can't question Andrade's skills you can certainly question some of his career decisions and willingness to get in the ring with the best. In 2013 Andrade beat Vanes Martirosyan which, at the time, was the biggest win of his career. Many thought he would step up to the next level after that victory. Instead, Andrade fought just once a year in 2014, 2015, and 2016. To make matters worse, none of the opponents he faced was better than Martirosyan. After fighting twice in 2017 against solid, but far from elite competition, Andrade went back to his old ways, fighting just once in 2018. Instead of Martirosyan being a career changing win for Andrade he remains the best opponent he's faced to date and that fight happened six years ago. Now certainly Andrade has had some bad luck, most notably when he was set to faced Billy Joe Saunders only to have that fight fall apart after Saunders tested positive for a banned substance. Still, Andrade should have been facing better opposition at this point in his career.
Sulecki (28-1, 11 KOs) is a solid fighter who doesn't seem to do anything spectacularly. His jab is pretty good and he follows it with a punishing right hand. Sulecki is at his best on the inside where he can rough things up. His left hook is a decent punch but he lacks top shelf power or speed. When Sulecki is on the outside he tends to stand right in front of his opponent and because of that he's been dropped multiple times. The Polish pugilist is probably going to have a tough time getting inside on Andrade but if he can he could find success with his bruising right hand.
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| Sulecki, celebrating a win and showing off his Polish pride |
This fight should come down to distance. Sulecki isn't very slick and if he can't get inside he is going to get picked apart by Andrade. For Sulecki to find any success he will have to get in the pocket and stay there and land plenty of heavy right hands. Andrade needs to keep Sulecki on the outside and at the end of his punches. Andrade is the slicker fighter and has better had speed and power. Look for the champion to really stay busy with his jab which will keep Sulecki on the outside where Andrade can tee-off on him.
PREDICTION: Maciej Sulecki is a fine fighter but being a fine fighter won't be enough to beat Demetrius Andrade. Andrade is better in nearly every category and while Sulecki will be stubborn and stick around for the entirety of the fight, he won't do enough to win. Andrade might not look spectacular but he will look good and he will win this fight by the way of unanimous decision.
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