Andrade looking at June 22nd return

Despite initially wanting to appear on the Anthony Joshua-Jarrell Miller undercard, it looks as though WBO middleweight champ Demetrius Andrade will headline a June 22nd DAZN show in his hometown of Providence, RI against TBA. Eddie Hearn revealed the date and location last week in an interview with AB Boxing News, with ESPN recently confirming the news.

Andrade (27-0, 17 KO) was originally slated to challenge Billy Joe Sanders for the title last October, but Saunders’ failed drug test led to him vacating the title and leaving Andrade to brutalize Walter Kautondokwa. Andrade returned to action three months later with a 10th-round finish of veteran Artur Akavov.

As far as his opponent options, his #1 (Saunders), #2 (Gennady Golovkin), #3 (David Lemieux), and #4 (Jack Culcay) contenders are all either occupied or, in the case of Lemieux, not even in the division anymore. That leaves #5 Steven Butler (26-1-1, 23 KO), who’s knocked out eight opponents since an upset loss to Brandon Cook.

Of course, rankings mean nothing nowadays, so who knows whom he’ll wind up fighting.