In front of a packed hometown crowd of 7,136, Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade (28-0, 17 KOs) successfully defended his WBO Middleweight World Champion against dangerous challenger Maciej Sulecki (28-2, 11 KOs) at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island, and live exclusively on DAZN. Andrade, 31, scored a first-round knockdown and did not cede a single round on the scorecards en route to a dominating unanimous decision.
In the co-main event of the evening, former heavyweight world champion Joseph Parker (26-2, 20 KOs)scored a convincing 10th round TKO stoppage over Australian challenger Alex Leapai (32-8-4, 26 KOs) to make a statement in his DAZN debut.
Highlighting the undercard action, Kal Yafai (26-0, 15 KOs) turned in an impressive performance to extend his reign as Britain’s longest-tenured world champion, beating Norbelto Jimenez (29-9-4, 16 KOs) by unanimous decision to retain his WBA Super Flyweight title. In a super welterweight contest, Massachusetts’ Mark DeLuca (24-1, 13 KOs) bested Canada’s Brandon Brewer (23-1-1, 11 KOs) by unanimous decision in a bloody brawl.
Three fast-rising Matchroom Boxing USA prospects, Alexis Espino (3-0, 2 KOs), Otha Jones III (3-0, 1 KO) and Raymond Ford (3-0, 1 KO), put on exciting performances to further bolster their unbeaten records.
Below are quotes and results from the stacked DAZN card in Providence.
Demetrius Andrade
On his performance: “Providence, Rhode Island, that’s what I am talking about, baby. That’s what I am talking about. Sulecki was a great fighter. Top 10 guy and he came after it all night and let me utilize my tools. I gave people another great 12 rounds of boxing. I used my jab. Sulecki is no pushover. He ain’t no Steve Rolls, ain’t no Rocky Fielding. So Canelo, where your cajones at? Let’s get it.”
On the message he sent with his aggressiveness: “I am the best out here. He stepped up to the plate. Sulecki was a tough guy. He wasn’t taking no for an answer. He came to fight though, and I did what I had to do, and that’s look pretty. Tall, black, handsome. Alto, moreno, guapo. Your boy. It’s me again. See you in September!”
On his body during the fight: “No excuses in there. I kind of felt something going on with my body during training camp so I utilized what I can and did what I did. I looked good doing it. My legs were bothering me for a while after a few rounds. My dad told me to take it easy and told me to give them what they came here to see and that’s the sweet science of boxing.”
On having the final piece of the middleweight: “Forget the WBC shit. Whatever that ‘Franchise’ belt is. Let’s go, Canelo. Let’s unify this division. Let’s have one champion. It’s right here. Let’s do it. No more running, no more games. Let’s put it all on the line and see who is the best. Mano a mano. Viva Mexico!”
On people not wanting to fight him: “If I would’ve stopped him? No. If I beat him for 12 rounds? No. If you want to say you’re a legend and you’re the top guy, then you need to come this way. There’s no other way. I don’t want to fight the bottom guys. Sulecki is a top 10 guy, there are no more. I keep beating them, I keep beating them, I just keep beating them. Where’s Canelo? Where’s GGG? What’s the hold up? I didn’t look past Sulecki, I just knew I was going to beat him.”
Joseph Parker
On his performance: “I haven’t been in the ring in half a year, and we got more rounds than I expected. But damn, he has a hard head. But I am very excited about my deal with Matchroom and I look forward to putting on many more good performances in the future. When I started landing punches and he wouldn’t go down, I knew this was going to be tough. Thanks to my team, New Zealand, Australia, UK fans. I had to be patient and pick my shots to get the stoppage.”
On what he wants next: “Right now, I want to take a break. Then I will sit down with my team and Eddie. I want to take any fight that comes my way and I really want to stay busy.”
On avenging his losses: “I would fight Andy Ruiz, I know that he thinks he won that fight. Big ups to him for winning his fight against AJ but if he wanted to settle his score, I’d do it.”
Kal Yafai
On his performance: “I am struggling to hear right now. I perforated both of my eardrums. It wasn’t easy, fighting in front of a very hostile crowd. I have a bone to pick with Eddie Hearn, my promotor, he put my fight in the United States for the second time. I am fighting in Providence, but little did I know that it is full of Dominicans! It’s all good. I won easily. Now on to the big fight. I want Rungvisai, Estrada, Chocolatito. Those kinds of guys have to be next.”
On how the fight changed during the middle rounds: “My hands and my ears being hurt. I am hearing double right now. It’s echoing in my ears. No excuses though, I won easily on the cards. I am not getting a ton of love here but thanks to all the Dominican fans who came out. Providence has welcomed me very nicely for the last two weeks, maybe not tonight though. I could see double vision in my eyes, too, from the blood dripping in my eyes. This is my first time being cut. So yeah, learned a lot of things tonight.”
On fighting Juan Francisco Estrada: “Yeah, I want that fight. I want all the big fights. All the big guys. I love that fight. But any of them: Estrada, Rungvisai, Roman Gonzalez, Kazuto Ioka. I want the big fights.”
Alexis Espino
On his performance: “He is strong, but he was throwing crazy. It felt good getting those knockdowns. I didn’t like my last performance, so I was trying to make up for it. I have been sparring Vergil Ortiz, I have been sparring nothing but dogs at Robert Garcia’s academy. It’s crazy. I have three fights now, but I have just learned so much during those three fights.”
On dedicating his performance: “I have a family friend who just passed away due to cancer. His name is Brandon. He was watching my fight while he was going through his fight. He was a great person. He was the life of the party. I want to say rest in peace to him. I love all you guys.”
Mark DeLuca
On his performance: “It was physical. I wanted to box, I felt like I could box Brandon. I wanted to box but I got caught up. I said we were going to steal the show so going into the fight, that’s what I had in mind. I saw he was bleeding and that turned me on. He saw me bleeding, and that turned the crowd on. So we went for it.”
On both being cut in the fight: “It bothered me. My eye was blurry. But my coach and cut man Hector Bermudez got right in there and did a great job closing the cut.”
On who you want next: “I am here to call out the biggest name in boxing: Eddie Hearn. This is my second fighting on a DAZN card, and I am calling out Eddie Hearn to keep me busy, keep me on Matchroom cards. He’s got a lot of super welterweights over in England and I am more than game. If you’d consider me, that would be great.”
On the fans who showed up to support him: “I took this fight on two weeks’ notice and look at all of these people who showed up. That’s two weeks’ notice. I have loyal fans who travel. I’d be teaching Tae Bo if it weren’t for all of them.”
Otha Jones III
On his performance: “He gave me a challenge. Taught me to not go in there in the first round looking for a knockout. He made me adjust. I give myself a ‘B’ tonight, not a ‘B+,’ just a ‘B.’ I need to sit down more on my punches, placing my shots right. Then I can go from there.”
Ray Ford
On his performance: “I knew I was going to get him out of there. He came up to me last night and asked me for a picture, today he asked me for a shirt. I knew that he wasn’t ready. I give my performance a ‘B’ though. I’ve been working on my left hook to the body, it’s going to my money punch. It’s been getting stronger. His body looked soft so that was the game plan, get to the body.”
WBO Middleweight World Title Fight – 12 Rounds
Demetrius Andrade (28-0, 17 KOs) defeats Maciej Sulecki (28-2, 11 KOs) via unanimous decision.
(120-107 x3)
Heavyweight Fight – 12 Rounds
Joseph Parker (26-2, 20 KOs) defeats Alex Leapai (32-8-4, 26 KOs) via TKO at 2:18 of Round 10.
WBA Super Flyweight Title Fight – 12 Rounds
Kal Yafai (26-0, 15 KOs) defeats Norbelto Jimenez (29-9-4, 16 KOs) via unanimous decision.
(119-107, 118-108, 117-109)
Middleweight Fight (164 lbs. catchweight) – 4 Rounds
Alexis Espino (3-0, 2 KOs) defeats Kerby St. Juste (0-1) via TKO at 1:49 of Round 2.
Super Welterweight Fight – 10 Rounds
Mark DeLuca (24-1, 13 KOs) defeats Brandon Brewer (23-1-1, 11 KOs) via unanimous decision.
(99-91, 98-92, 97-93)
Lightweight Fight – 6 Rounds
Otha Jones III (3-0, 1 KO) defeats Matias Arriagada (6-5, 3 KOs) via unanimous decision.
(60-54 x3)
Featherweight Fight – 8 Rounds
Shelly Vincent (25-2, 1 KO) defeats Simone Da Silva (16-13, 6 KOs) via unanimous decision.
(79-73, 78-74 x2)
Featherweight Fight – 4 Rounds
Raymond Ford (3-0, 1 KO) defeats Isidro Figueroa (1-1) via KO at 1:28 of Round 1.
Middleweight Fight – 4 Rounds
Anthony Concepcion (4-0, 4 KOs) defeats Yasmani Pedroso (2-7, 1 KO) via KO at 2:02 of Round 1.
