The Boxing Comeback That No-One is Talking About

Just under five years ago, Demetrius Andrade was making the fourth defence of his WBO Middleweight World Title against Jason Quigley, whom he battered within two rounds. Now, in 2026, he has been out of the ring for nearly three years.

While Anthony Joshua is making his return to the ring amid plenty of pomp and circumstance, with Tyson Fury’s matchup against Arslanbek Makhmudov having received similar fanfare, Andrade’s boxing comeback has been met with crickets.

‘Boo Boo’ really should’ve had a much better career, which feels odd to write, given that he was a two-weight world champion. An accomplished amateur with a polished skillset, he never quite managed to hit the big time.

But why did Andrade’s career take such a nosedive? Why isn’t he named amongst the boxing elite like he feels he should be (even to this day)? Let’s do some digging.

Where did Demetrius Andrade go wrong?

While Andrade may bemoan the lack of big fights that came his way, he often didn’t help himself. He avoided challenges from fighters such as Jermell Charlo, Sergey Derevyanchenko and Janibek Alimkhanuly for various reasons.

Andrade was also holding out for a bigger fight that never came. It wasn’t always his fault, though. A matchup was scheduled between he and Billy Joe Saunders in 2018, only for it to be cancelled after Saunders failed a drugs test.

He was, in fairness, often let down by his promoters. Both PBC and Matchroom struggled to secure a major fight for him for years, often leading to lengthy spells of inactivity. While Andrade isn’t blameless here, the quality of his promotion must also be taken into consideration.

Andrade was a difficult fighter to market, though. He was and is a skilled boxer, but wasn’t involved in entertaining fights due to his propensity for both cautiousness and fighting strictly on the outside.

Towards the latter half of his career, Andrade often cut a cantankerous figure. Even the generally-passive Steve Bunce was able to get a rise out of him in 2021, when he suggested that he was ‘underestimating’ Liam Williams [via BBC Sport].

Bunce certainly pushed his buttons, but Andrade made it easy for him to do so. Sadly, ‘Boo Boo’ often overestimated his own popularity and abilities, to his own detriment.

Was Demetrius Andrade ever truly ‘elite’?

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez infamously called him a ‘horrible fighter’ when they met face-to-face in 2021. Andrade’s ever-dwindling fanbase accused Canelo of ducking him, whilst Canelo insisted that a fight with Andrade was beneath him.

In Andrade’s defence, given Canelo’s recent resume, this sounds a little rich. Nevertheless, the fight did not happen, with Andrade taking on David Benavidez in 2023 instead.

Despite a bright early start, Benavidez battered Andrade into submission, sending the Rhode Island native into a lengthy period of inactivity. Some claimed that Andrade was ‘exposed’, while others pointed out that he was probably outmatched in terms of size, rather than talent.

Unfortunately for Andrade, this was the only truly high-profile bout he ever really had. Prior to this, his only genuinely notable victories came over Maciej Sulęcki and Vanes Martirosyan. To his credit, he outclassed Sulecki without much effort, but his fight against Martirosyan was considerably closer.

His other ‘best’ wins, over fighters such as Jack Culcay, Luke Keeler and Walter Kautondokwa did little to capture the imagination of even the most devoted of boxing fans. Andrade never beat a top fighter – to that end, it’s difficult to give him the honour of being an elite pugilist.

Can Andrade make his comeback a success?

At the age of 38, Andrade is most certainly past his best. His style relied heavily on his quickness and reflexes, which will have undoubtedly diminished over time.

Having spent so long out of the ring, he simply won’t be the sharp, crisp counter-puncher he once was. He was never a big puncher, either, so he won’t be able to fall back on his power.

Of course, success is relative in boxing. However, if Andrade thinks he can come back and become a major star at this stage of his career, he is kidding himself.