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Andrade ready to take on the
World
September 14, 2007 |
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PROVIDENCE (September 14, 2007) – Fresh
off of his thoroughly dominating performance at the US Boxing
Trials, where he qualified for the 2008 United States Boxing Team,
amateur boxing star Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade has shifted his
sights on the AIBA Men’s World Championships, October 23-November 3,
at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
His coaches are pictured with him - (L)
David Keefe, (R) his father Paul Andrade.
Andrade, the No. 1 rated welterweight in
the U.S., is the two-time U.S. National Championships and National
Golden Gloves champion. The 19-year-old southpaw blitzed the
opposition at the US Boxing Trials -- defeating in order David Lopez
(RSCO-2), Charles Hatley (RSCO-3), Keith Thurman (27-13) and Thurman
(21-13) again in the championship bout – to secure a position on
Team USA.
All of the members on Team USA, however, need to qualify for the
Olympics by finishing among the top eight in The Worlds or by
placing in two other International tournaments. “It feels good to be
on the team,” Andrade said. “I’ve worked very hard to get there but
my goal is to win a gold medal at the Olympics. I trained super hard
with my father (Paul) and David (Keefe). They prepared me to do
well. I knew what I had to do and did it. It was easy.”
Demetrious will soon join his Team USA teammates at training camp in
Colorado Springs to get ready for the World Championships, which in
many ways serves as a prelude in boxing to the 2008 Olympic Games in
China.
With Cuban Erislandi Lara reportedly not competing due to his failed
defection at the Pan-Am Games, Andrade’s chief competition at The
Worlds figures to come from Russians Andrey Balanov and Ruslan
Khairov, although Bulgaria’s top ranked Magumed Nurudinov and Pan-Am
Games gold medal winner Pedro Lima, who edged Andrade 7-6 in the
championship bout held in Lima’s native Brazil, should also be in
the medal hunt.
“I’m going through them all,” Andrade predicted. “No mercy for
anybody. After this (World Championships) they won’t want to fight
me in the Olympics. I won but lost in Russia and Brazil (due to
controversial hometown scoring against Andrade). That doesn’t happen
in tournaments like these…..oh, Roy Jones and Evander Holyfield were
robbed in the Olympics.”
Andrade believes he’s improved in several ways like sitting down
better (on his punches) and taking baby steps forward (rather than
rushing in). His jab has been extremely effective but he also
realizes that he has to work on some small bad habits to become an
even more complete boxer.
All of the hoopla surrounding the Olympics, according to “Boo Boo,”
hasn’t changed him because of his strong support system. “It’s all
starting to hit me but I don’t feel any pressure,” Andrade
concluded. “I keep a tight circle and don’t go around with a lot of
people hanging around me. More people seem to know who I am now, but
I know what can happen. My father and Dave give me tips about what
to do or not to do in and out of the ring. Right now, I’m just
getting focused on the World Championships and qualifying to box in
the Olympics.”
Source: Press Release/courtesy Photograph |
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