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STAR SHOWING: Ray Serrano Fights Friday, Boo Boo Andrade Saturday

Published

10 years ago

October 15, 2015

New York, October 15—A pair of Star Boxing standouts with 21 career wins apiece – welterweight contender Raymond “Tito” Serrano and former Junior Middleweight world champion Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade – will see action in key bouts on this busy boxing weekend.

On Friday night, October 16, Serrano (21-2, 9 KOs) will try to put the first blemish on the undefeated record of Brad Solomon (25-0, 9 KOs) in the co-featured bout on a card to be televised by TRU TV from the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn, New York. The 26-year-old Serrano, a Puerto Rican standout, is a product of the tough fight city of Philadelphia, PA. The Solomon-Serrano bout is promoted by Top Rank in association with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing.

On Saturday night, October 17, the ring wars lead to Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT when Andrade returns to the ring after a 16-month layoff and puts his undefeated record on the line against Dario Fabian Pucheta (20-2, 11 KOs), a top Argentinian who has won three straight. They’ll be fighting in the main event for the vacant WBO and WBA International Junior Middleweight world titles. The show is promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s CES in association with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and Banner Promotions.

A victory by Andrade, fighting on his New England home turf out of Providence, RI, puts two belts around his waist, and is an automatic top 15 ranking in both the WBO and WBA, a major step toward reclaiming his WBO junior middleweight title that was stripped from him in July due to the long layoff.

More on Andrade: One of the most celebrated amateurs in modern United States amateur boxing history, slick southpaw Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade is now on a mission to accomplish something he did before starting to get paid to fight, and become world champion as a professional.

Andrade first started boxing at the tender age of six. As an amateur, Demetrius won his first gold medal in 2002 at the National Silver Gloves Championships for ages 12 and 13 at 112 pounds. He later had winning performances at the 2005 & 2006 U.S. National Championships, 2006 & 2006 National Golden Gloves Tournament.

In 2007, he captured a silver medal at the Pan-Am Games in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, losing in the final to local favorite Pedro Lima, 7-6. Later that same year, in Chicago, he became the first American in 12 years to capture gold at the World Amateur Boxing Championships. “Boo Boo” was completely dominant in the final competition, leading 10-1 after one round – aided by a standing eight count imposed on his opponent, Manon Boonkumnong – after which his opponent retired.

Andrade was considered the most promising pro prospect on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team, as well as one of the most highly regarded in the entire world. In Beijing, he defeated Kakhaber Zhvania (Georgia), 11-9, and dangerous Audrey Balanov (Russian), 14-3, in the first two rounds of The Olympics. In the quarterfinals, though, he was unfairly eliminated, losing a controversial 11-9 decision to Korean boxer Kim Jung-Joo.

After the Olympics, Andrade signed a co-promotional contract with Star Boxing and Banner Promotions.

Andrade made his much-anticipated pro debut October 23, 2008 on Versus television, stopping Patrick Cape (4-2) in the second round of their fight in Airway Heights, Washington. One month later, fighting at home in Rhode Island for the first time as a professional, Demetrius defeated Eric Marriott (0-1) by way of a fourth-round technical decision. After his first two fights, Andrade became a regular on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights series and ultimately won his Championship on HBO.

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