Zach Parker vs Demetrius Andrade eliminator likely for Nov. 5

The postponed WBO super middleweight eliminator between Zach Parker and Demetrius Andrade appears to be back on, with the fight likely for Nov. 5 in the United Kingdom.

“There’s a few destinations, either Nottingham or London, but it doesn’t matter where it is,” Parker said on the Joyce vs Parker UK broadcast.

“I’m just ready to fight now. It’s been a long time, he’s had a shoulder injury, but we’re in now and hopefully the fight gets made.”

The last part might give you pause, but this seems likely to happen. Andrade (31-0, 19 KO) was set to go over to the UK and face Parker (22-0, 16 KO) earlier this year, before his injury postponed the fight, and he has since even vacated his WBO belt at middleweight specifically to take this fight.

The 34-year-old Andrade has held world titles at 154 and 160, never beating a champion to win one and never losing one in the ring. His opposition and style have both been criticized, and he most recently parted ways with Matchroom following a Nov. 2021 win over Jason Quigley in what turned out to be a final defense for his WBO middleweight title reign.

Promoter Eddie Hearn admitted he just couldn’t get Andrade the fights he wanted, but a lot of that has been put on Andrade for various reasons, too, a big one being that he’s obviously good and also doesn’t have much of a fan base, so he doesn’t bring particularly big money to fights.

Parker, 28, is a natural super middleweight but about the same height and reach as Andrade. He’s been tearing through opposition lately, though the opposition is a far cry from Andrade’s skill level. It’ll be a chance for him to score a win that makes him look like a legitimate contender and not just a sanctioning body or “because the division is kind of empty right now” contender.

The Nov. 5 fight would put them head-to-head, in a live broadcast sense, with Dmitry Bivol’s WBA light heavyweight title defense against Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez on DAZN from Abu Dhabi.