Zach Parker vs Demetrius Andrade Off? Who Could Save The Show?

The super-middleweight fight between Zach Parker and Demetrius Andrade is now in doubt as Andrade announces he has suffered a shoulder injury while preparing in camp, which means he will not be able to fight on their May 21st date

The super-middleweight match up got off to a rocky start in the first press conference where Demetrius Andrade did not attend in person, apparently due to his passport being expired, it was at that point some boxing fans threw doubt on if the fight would go ahead and if Andrade was taking it seriously.

ESPN reports that Andrade, 34, will undergo an MRI scan on his injured shoulder to determine if surgery is required. So, it looks likely either way that the fight will either be postponed and/or a new opponent could step in to save the May 21st date that promoter Frank Warren has booked for the event.

Who could Parker fight?

If Frank Warren was insistent on saving the date set aside for Parker to fight at Pride Park, it wouldn’t be unrealistic for the WBO to offer a replacement opponent ranked with them and still allow the fight to be for the interim title, given that the date is just 3 weeks away and any highly ranked fighter would usually want more time this would likely be a low ranked offering.

Lerrone Richards?

In a recent tweet, former SJAM boxing manager, Sam Jones was quick to build a narrative on Twitter replying to the news:

Gutted Andrade Parker is off , hopefully can get a replacement, I don’t think we’re going to see Andrade in derby anytime soon.

Sam Jones – Twitter

Following this Tweet, Jones then quickly retweeted and responded to comments from a fighter he formerly ‘officially’ managed, Lerrone Richards. Richards was seen to offer to step in for the event and fight Zach Parker with short notice. Jones retweeted:

WOW … Zach been preparing for a slick southpaw as well , this makes so much sense , just shows what an athlete @Snipertheboss is for being able to be ready at such short notice , what a guy 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

Sam Jones – Twitter

Jones appeared to be ‘on a roll’ with his match-making skills before ‘boxing twitter’ saw a response from Zach Parker’s Manager, Neil Marsh, where Marsh responded:

@mrsamjones88 please go and learn the game for @Snipertheboss sake you and your trolls are clueless it’s a mandatory and lerone is not even rated so not eligible, so easy to shout out @zachparkerboxer for a fight that can’t even happen go back to the 🚘 auctions 🥊

Neil Marsh – Twitter

Boxing fans are likely aware of Parker’s intentions to defeat Andrade for the vacant interim WBO 168-lb title in order to force Canelo Alvarez to fight him or vacate his super-middleweight world title, which would then see Parker elevated to world champion.

Sam Jones and Lerrone Richards will be wholly aware of this plan from team Parker but for them, it appears to be a win/win situation, as Parker would either accept to fight Richards, which benefits Richards more. Or, decline the offer and then it could be seen that Parker is ‘avoiding’ him.

It is a shame we are unlikely to see Zach Parker’s team accept Richards step in for this date, as combining Parker’s explosive knockout power with Richards sharp counters and awkward defence, it would have been some spectacle.

Reschedule the Parker vs Andrade fight

Unfortunately at this stage, it seems unlikely we will get to see the fight go ahead, even at a later date. Zach Parker is a young fighter with a fast-moving and progressing career and Frank Warren and the Queensberry team have been quick to announce that the Mat 21st date will be postponed, they say until “until the extent of the injury is fully established” full quote below:

Queensberry promotions have today been informed that Demetrius Andrade has sustained a shoulder injury which has forced him to withdraw from his scheduled interim WBO World super-middleweight title fight with Zach Parker at Pride Park, Derby on 21st May.

It is with great regret that the decision has been made to postpone the event until the extent of the injury is fully established. A further update will be released in the coming days with a revised fight date and information for ticket buyers

Frank Warren TV – Twitter

At this stage, it seems Queensberry and Team Parker are fully focused on attempting to get the fight date rescheduled, but this will fully depend on how serious Andrade’s injury is.

NoSmokeBoxing would not expect Parker to wait longer than an additional 3 months if the injury is extensive and would at that stage most likely move on to a different challenger or be elevated to be the interim challenger and wait to see if Canelo will fight him.