Demetrius "Boo Boo" Andrade is a world champion, is undefeated, and thought of within boxing circles as one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. He steps into the ring on Friday night with a 30-0 record for what his team will no doubt consider a routine title defence against a 30 year old challenger with a professional record of 19-1.
The fight, for the WBO World Middleweight crown, will take place in Manchester New Hampshire in the early hours of Saturday morning (Irish time), just 100 miles from Andrade's hometown of Providence, Rhode Island. This is, ostensibly, a home fight for the American champion.
What Andrade and his camp might not have reckoned with though is the power of an Irish challenger, and in particular, one as universally liked and well supported as Donegal's Jason Quigley.
At the weigh-in for the fight on Thursday, Quigley stepped up to the scales and received a thunderous ovation, setting aside any possibility of a home town advantage for Andrade.
⚖️ @BooBooAndrade vs @jay_quigley 💪
👑 WBO World Middleweight Title on the line tomorrow in our main event!#AndradeQuigley pic.twitter.com/XlPM45HqtB— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) November 18, 2021
Irish supporters came out in full force for Jason Quigley's weigh-in 🇮🇪#AndradeQuigley pic.twitter.com/z5xYXKXzUr
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) November 18, 2021
Speaking to Balls last month, Ladbrokes ambassador Quigley told us of the support he's been receiving from home.
"Thank God the restrictions were lifted - as all of Donegal had their flights booked. The support has been unbelievable. The amount of people who have booked flights already. The amount of people who have asked about tickets."
What a buzz 🇮🇪
•
Weigh in done, ready for tomorrow night! 👊🏼#AndTheNew #AndradeQuigley
.
.@MatchroomBoxing @DAZNBoxing @GoldenBoyBoxing @AndyLeeBoxing @WayneMcCullough pic.twitter.com/RuTj8Efzqb— Jason Quigley (@jay_quigley) November 18, 2021
Quigley is a 7/1 underdog for the fight on Ladbrokes, but speaking to us yesterday, fellow Irish professional Eric Donovan says that while becoming world champion on Friday night will be an uphill task for the Donegal man, he's got every chance.
If Jason can navigate his way through the early rounds and be within touching distance, don't go all out. Be smart, be clever, and remember that it's a marathon and not a sprint. If he can be within touching distance at the halfway point of the fight, then I think he's in with a great chance.
Andrade tends to start fast and finish slow, that has been the pattern over his last number of fights. If he doesn't get you out of there early he kind of plateaus a bit. If Jason can be within touching distance at the midway point, he can have a go then, but be careful.
"It's all about execution of the performance on the night" 🥊 @ericdonovanbox believes that Jason Quigley can cause Demetrius 'Boo Boo' Andrade problems in their WBO World Middleweight title fight on Saturday morning!
Watch our full chat here: https://t.co/w9eSzYLlvM pic.twitter.com/kEs91Rl3hc— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) November 18, 2021
You can watching Jason Quigley world title opportunity live on DAZN late on Friday night, with ring walks currently scheduled for 3am Irish time.
SEE ALSO: 'There's No Pressure On Me': Quigley's Honest Assessment Of Fight Week
