Demond Nicholson On Andrade Fight: Objective Is To Shock The World, Rewrite My Story

Demond Nicholson couldn’t help but burst into laughter when Demetrius Andrade assured him during a recent virtual press conference that he would bounce his gloves off of Nicholson’s “big ass forehead.”

The joke, Nicholson hopes, ultimately will be on Andrade come Saturday night. The 29-year-old Nicholson knows he has the chance to completely change the narrative of his career by upsetting the undefeated former WBO middleweight champion on the Gervonta Davis-Hector Luis Garcia undercard Saturday night in Washington, D.C.

Most handicappers have made Andrade at least a 25-1 favorite over Nicholson, despite that Andrade (31-0, 19 KOs) will make his debut at the 168-pound limit.

“My main objective is go in there and win,” Nicholson said, “shock the world and get the fights that I need, you know, to, like I said, rewrite my legacy.”

Nicholson (26-4-1, 22 KOs) is a career-long super middleweight who can punch, but he has lost four times – twice by decision, to Edgar Berlanga and Steve Rolls, and twice by technical knockout, to Jesse Hart and Lekan Byfield. Nicholson, of Laurel, Maryland, has won three straight fights since he became the first fighter to take Brooklyn’s Berlanga (20-0, 16 KOs) the distance in an eight-rounder in April 2021 in Kissimmee, Florida.

“Me beating ‘Boo Boo,’ man, it solidifies me and, you know, it helps me rewrite my story,” Nicholson said in reference to Andrade’s nickname. “As I came in the game of boxing, you know, I had a lot of ups and downs and things like that. You know, so me beating ‘Boo Boo,’ it’s gonna help me rewrite my story.”

Though a two-division champion, Andrade also wants to rewrite his story as he approaches his 35th birthday. After six straight fights with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and DAZN from 2018-2021, Andrade has aligned with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions for the express purpose of finally landing the defining fight he has long wanted – a showdown with unbeaten WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo.

Before Andrade can fully focus on trying to lure Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) into the ring, he must conquer a motivated veteran determined to prove he isn’t the type of opponent Andrade should’ve chosen for a tune-up. Andrade hasn’t been truly tested on the scorecards since he defeated Germany’s Jack Culcay by split decision in March 2017, but Nicholson feels he knows how to push the 2008 Olympian from Providence, Rhode Island.

“Just go in there and do what I do best, and that’s box,” Nicholson said of what it’ll take to upend Andrade. “You know, honestly, my opinion, I don’t see ‘Boo Boo’ as awkward. I think he’s one of the sharpest boxers on the planet. You know, so he just has his own style, you know? I think just go in there and box, you know? That’s it.”

Andrade-Nicholson will be the first of three undercard contests Showtime will broadcast before Baltimore’s Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) faces the Dominican Republic’s Garcia (16-0, 10 KOs, 3 NC) in its pay-per-view main event from Capital One Arena ($74.99; 9 p.m. ET).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.