After his appearance in the 2008 Olympics, Demetrius Andrade was on top of everyone's prospect list. Two years later, he's unbeaten, but he's fighting to change his perception in 2011.
He came out out of the gates professionally with a 6-0 record in 2009, then came a rocky 2010. He won all of his fights, but that wasn't good enough for some. Teddy Atlas led the charge during an ESPN telecast of Andrade's win over Geoffrey Spruiell. He ripped the fighter and his handlers for moving the 22-year-old too slowly. From Thomas Gerbasi of Boxing Scene:
"It's human nature. Everyone thinks they're experts. Everybody thinks they know, and when people in the media say something, some people believe them," [Andrade's promoter Artie] Pellulo said. "But at the end of the day, they're not in the gym every day with the kid. You have to see how things play out, and everybody has a different way of advancing. You've got to go with the flow for what's best for each guy."
Pellulo thinks a fight in Las Vegas is best. Andrade (11-0) will meet Alberto Herrera (7-1-1) Friday night at the Cox Pavilion on ESPN2 (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT).
Atlas' rant got some other media members to jump on Andrade and then fans piled on. Andrade takes it all in stride.
"In the past two years, I'm 11-0 with 8 knockouts, so I can't complain," he said. "Eventually I'm gonna fight the top guys when it's time for it. [...] A lot of people expect for me to just jump out the water and fight guys like Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams. Come on guys, let's be real. It's one step at a time and sometimes patience is the key to success and you've got to wait your turn. [...] I'm only 22, and I want a long career in this. I'll be ready when the time comes."
Andrade was more than ready to turn the page from 2010 to 2011. He also dealt numerous fight cancellations and changes, and he had his second daughter in August. Pellulo has planned a busy year for Andrade. He expects his next fight to come in late February and then another in April.
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