David Benavidez vs Demetrius Andrade official for November 25th in Las Vegas

Once planned, now official. David Benavidez will defend his interim WBC super middleweight title against Demetrius Andrade atop a November 25th Showtime PPV at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Benavidez (27-0, 23 KO) scored his biggest win to date in March by battering Caleb Plant to end a 10-month layoff and defend the belt he claimed in his sole 2021 bout, a second-round finish of David Lemieux.

Andrade (32-0, 19 KO) has enjoyed a far less glamorous couple of years; 2022 saw him line up for a super middleweight final eliminator against Zach Parker, injure his shoulder, withdraw after the next purse bid produced a fraction of the initial offering, and then give up his middleweight title rather than fight Janibek Alimkhanuly.

He ultimately made his super middleweight debut in January, beating but failing to finish Demond Nicholson.

Still, “Boo Boo” is still a damn good fighter at the end of the day. It’ll be fascinating to see whether his standard approach, which relies on cowing opponents early before using his length to cruise to victory, will work against one of the most physically imposing fighters this side of light heavyweight.

The winner will be in line to challenge Canelo early next year, as Mauricio Sulaiman has vowed to finally force his favorite and most special boy to fulfill his mandatory obligations. I’ll believe it when I see it, but in the meantime, I’m ready for a quality scrap come November.

I’ve seen rumblings that Jermall Charlo could face David’s brother, Jose Jr, in the co-feature. As that’s not been announced, I’ll save my vitriol for later.