Demetrius Andrade could move up to 168lbs to set up a fight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, according to Eddie Hearn.
The undefeated American has struggled for a high profile fight for much of his career, despite holding the WBO middleweight belt. He has been linked with fights with Canelo, Gennadiy Golovkin and others, but nothing has come to fruition.
Matchroom head Eddie Hearn has often spoken of his frustration in pairing Andrade, and BoxingScene.com reported that a move up could be on the cards.
“Demetrius Andrade had a good year. Not the flagship fights that we want, but nice and active. Great win against Quigley last time,” he said. “He's got the mandatory against Janibek [Alimkhanuly], but we need a bigger fight than that, in all honesty. So if we can't find it at middleweight, I think he'll move up to super middleweight and become mandatory there.”
The WBO regulations would likely see Andrade step up a weight as the mandatory challenger for their current super middleweight champion, the undisputed Canelo.
Canelo is currently focused on a cruiserweight championship fight with WBC title holder Ilunga Makabu, but his camp have previously indicated he does not want to give up his current belt, meaning it may be some time before 33-year-old Andrade finally gets a fight he wants.