The Dennis Andries story could be made into a movie, and what a great, inspiring, and uplifting film it really could be. Andries, who should be far more celebrated than he is, especially in his home country, is a classic case of the underdog who made good and of how never giving in can pay a fighter, any fighter, back handsomely.
Andries, who arrived in the UK at a young age, having been born in Georgetown, Guyana, had a bumpy start as he embarked on a pro career. Andries, who was tough but raw and ungainly, lost six of his first 21 bouts, with him also boxing a draw. Fighting at light heavyweight, Andries was outclassed and out-experienced by fine boxer Bunny Johnson (twice, the second fight seeing Andries fail to win the British title), while heavyweight David Pearce stopped Andries the following year.
Andries would also rivalry with Tom Collins, the two going 4-1, with Dennis coming out on top. But in the first fight of theirs that contested the British belt, Collins won a 15-round decision. By the fifth fight, with Dennis now the British champ, it was clear how determined Andries was and how he would not give up. Still, at this time, the thought of Andries becoming a world champion was nowhere.
Andries made a few retentions of the British belt before he got a real opportunity in April 1986. Challenging a newly crowned WBC champ at 175 pounds, Andries edged J.B. Williams via split decision in a fight in Edmonton, UK. To this day, Williamson insists he was robbed. Andries managed one successful defense, stopping Tony Sibson in nine rounds………before he was thrown in with a living legend.
Thomas Hearns had too much of everything for Andries: power, speed, boxing skill, height and reach, and hometown advantage. That Andries was the naturally heavier man meant nothing. Hearns, who was looking to make some history by adding a light heavyweight title to his collection that consisted of belts won at welterweight and light-middleweight, did an absolute number on Andries.
Hearns sent the defending champion down multiple times, round six being especially nasty to watch, and Andries was finally stopped, way too late, in round ten. Andries looked all but finished, the hammering he took too much for him to be able to come back from. Instead, Andries would show over time that he had not even started fighting to the best of his ability.
Famously visiting Emanuel Steward at The Kronk Gym shortly after the Hearns massacre to ask Emanuel to train him properly, Andries slowly but surely won over the tough, non-nonsense Kronk regulars. Steward shortened his punches and removed a good deal of his crudeness. As fans know, Andries would go on to rule as light heavyweight champ two more times under Steward’s tutelage.
Tony Wills was taken out in five in February of 1989, with Dennis regaining the WBC belt just five fights after the Hearns disaster, and Andries would go on, later that year, to engage in a fiercer than fierce three-fight rivalry with Jeff Harding, with all three battles being pure, unadulterated violence. These fights are what Andries is best known for today. Harding took Andries’ title in fight-one, while Andries became a three-time WBC champ courtesy of a stoppage win of his own in the return.
But the Harding fights could so easily not have happened Andries could so easily have fought no further fights after Hearns had turned him into a human yo-yo. Hearns today has full respect for Andries, as did Emanuel before he sadly passed away. Today, Dennis is never seen publicly; the spotlight means nothing to him.
Hearns was kind enough to speak with this writer about Andries a while back, and “The Hitman” said, among other things, how highly he ranks “The Hackney Rock” in terms of the best he fought.
“I picked a very tough and dangerous opponent in Dennis,” Hearns told me. “I had to pay full attention to my tactics. My plan was to take the man into the later rounds and take his strength from him. I was thinking [at the time I scored four knockdowns over him in round four], ‘Okay, step in now [referee] and stop it!’ But he never stopped it, and that made it a very difficult fight for me. I did get tired a little bit. It just so happened I was in great shape.”
Hearns said he and Dennis became regular spar-mates at Kronk after their one-sided fight.
“Oh, of course, yes, we helped each other out many times,” Tommy said. “He helped me become a better fighter, and I helped him become a better fighter. I sparred him for his big fights, and he sparred me for my big fights against Virgil Hill. We both knew that when we sparred with each other, we would get great work, and we would have to be at our best. You could not afford to slip up against Dennis; he could hurt any fighter he went in there with. Dennis was a great guy, very humble and hard-working. He’d have to be in the top five of the best I faced.”
It would have been very interesting to see what would have happened had Hearns and Andries fought a return fight, Hearns having decided to take the WBA light heavyweight title in the summer of 1991. But Andries instead went to war with another “Hitman” that September, this being Harding in their rubber match. Harding won via a razor-thin decision in perhaps the most grueling and damaging of their three encounters. Andries’ time as a world champion had come to an end. But today, that story, that unlikeliest of ring comebacks, is still calling for a writer/filmmaker to pay tribute to it.
Andries finally retired in December 1996 after having fought as a pro for over 18 years. Andries’ final record reads a deceptive 49-14-2(30). These numbers do not in any way come close to informing a fan who never saw Andries fight his biggest and best fights how good he was. After that, a heck of a bumpy start, anyway.
