Demetrius Andrade easily outpoints Demond Nicholson in 168-pound debut

Demetrius Andrade looked like a legitimate contender in his 168-pound debut.

The former titleholder at 154 and 160 dropped Demond Nicholson twice and easily outboxed him to win a shutout decision in a 10-round bout on the Gervonta Davis-Hector Luis Garcia card at Captial One Arena in Washington, D.C.

All three judges scored it 100-88, 10 rounds to none. Boxing Junkie also scored it 100-88.

“I felt good,” Andrade said. “I could definitely tell the weight difference but speed, combinations, the IQ was the plan today, get the 10 rounds in. And that’s what we did.”

Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) attacked Nicholson (26-5-1, 22 KOs) from the opening bell and didn’t let up, picking apart his overmatched opponent with a variety shots at a safe distance.

The southpaw put Nicholson down with a combination in Round 2, although Nicholson wasn’t hurt.

And, in the final minute of the fight, a hard left hand to the head put Nicholson on the canvas a second time to punctuate Andrade’s impressive performance.

Andrade appeared to suffer a knockdown from a flurry of punches in Round 5 but the referee didn’t rule it that way. Otherwise, the winner, an excellent defensive fighter, took few punches.

According to CompuBox, Nicholson landed only total 28 shots — 2.8 per round.

The only flaw in Andrade’s performance — if it can be described as such — was his inability to take out a man he dominated from beginning to end.

Still, Andrade demonstrated that he’s a genuine threat to the top super middleweights, including undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez. He could be first in line to face the winner of a projected fight between top contenders David Benavidez and Caleb Plant.

“The only way I can say I’m the best,” he said, “is to fight the best.”

Story originally appeared on Boxing Junkie