Demetrius Andrade and Zach Parker have reached a point of no return.

BoxingScene.com has confirmed that a scheduled purse bid hearing remains in place for the ordered WBO interim super middleweight title fight between Providence’s Andrade and England’s Zach Parker. The sanctioning body informed all involved parties of its intention to proceed with the session from its headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

“Please be advised that on February 15, 2022, this Committee issued order scheduling purse bid proceedings considering that the parties herein could not reach an agreement as ordered,” Luis Batista-Salas, chairman of the WBO Championship Committee stated to Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn (Andrade) and Queensberry Promotions’ Frank Warren (Parker) in an official letter, a copy of which was obtained by BoxingScene.com. “Kindly note that this Committee’s ruling stands and purse bid proceedings will be conducted as scheduled. Wherefore, as per Section 11 through 14 of the WBO Regulations for World Championship Contests (www.wboboxing.com), please be advised that a Purse Bid will be held at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (EST) on Thursday, February [24], 2022.”

The minimum accepted bid for a sanctioned super middleweight fight is $300,000. Andrade is entitled to the favorable end of a 65/35 split based on both his designation as a WBO “Super” champion and the purse disparity between Andrade and Parker over their past three fights. The winner will be named mandatory challenger to the WBO super middleweight title held by undisputed WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO champ Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (57-1-2, 39KOs).

The WBO stated in no uncertain terms that Andrade—a 2008 U.S. Olympian who has held major titles at junior middleweight and middleweight—and Parker must commit in writing their intention to proceed with the purse bid and the fight itself. The distinction is standard fare but significant in this instance. 

As is always the case with ordered title fights, a deal can be reached at the eleventh-hour to prompt a purse bid cancellation. However, BoxingScene.com has learned that there is minimal possibility of another extension being granted for a fight that has already dragged on for months.

Andrade (31-0, 19KOs) is the reigning WBO middleweight titlist and already on the hook for a mandatory title defense. The WBO previously ordered Andrade to next face Kazakhstan’s Janibek Alimkhanuly (11-0, 7KOs), which prompted the unbeaten two-division titlist to explore the possibility of next facing Parker at super middleweight.

Parker (22-0, 16KOs) has held the number-one spot in the WBO super middleweight rankings since November 2020, only after Alvarez committed to a fight with Callum Smith for the WBA “Super” and vacant WBC title. Alvarez was permitted to jump the line as a WBO Super champion, despite Parker having previously won a sanctioned title eliminator in a March 2020 11th round knockout of Rohan Murdock.

Parker has since won three fights, including a fourth-round stoppage of Marcus Morrison last November 6 in Birmingham, England. The win came less than two weeks prior to Andrade’s most recent WBO middleweight title defense, a second-round knockout of Ireland’s Jason Quigley last November 19 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Andrade angled for more meaningful fights, only for the WBO to first order the 33-year-old southpaw to next face Alimkhanuly in a mandatory title defense. Andrade considered a move to super middleweight as an alternative to his previously ordered mandatory WBO middleweight title fight with Alimkhanuly. A fight with Parker was in play during the beginning of the negotiation period shortly after the WBO ordered Andrade-Alimkhanuly last November 30.

Too much time had elapsed without a deal in place for the super middleweight fight, leaving the sanctioning body to call a purse bid hearing for Andrade-Alimkhanuly. The session has since endured four separate delays before being tabled once Andrade-Parker was officially back in play as one of two interim title fights ordered January 28 by the WBO. 

Alimkhanuly was ordered to enter talks with Brazil’s Esquiva Falcao for the interim WBO middleweight title. BoxingScene.com has since learned that Falcao has opted to wait out IBF middleweight titlist Gennadiy Golovkin, for whom he remains the mandatory challenger. As previously reported by BoxingScene.com, Alimkhanuly was since ordered to enter talks with Tijuana’s Jaime Munguia (39-0, 31KOs), with a March 4 deadline in place for the two sides to reach a deal to avoid a purse bid hearing.

Whatever comes of the interim WBO middleweight title picture, the winner will be named mandatory challenger to Andrade’s full title.

It still leaves Andrade in a peculiar position. A loss to Parker will result in his being stripped of the WBO middleweight title, which will be awarded to the interim titlist. A win over Parker will leave Andrade with a ten-day window to decide whether to return to middleweight for said mandatory title defense or to stick around at super middleweight, where he will be the interim titlist and mandatory challenger to the full title—though not guaranteed a straightaway shot.

One of the stipulations in the ordered purse bid permits the WBO “the right to order that the winner of the Parker/Andrade bout faces in his next bout the Interim Champion, or Mandatory Challenger, as the case may

be, of any of the remaining three (WBA, WBC & IBF) recognized sanctioning organizations.”

BoxingScene.com has confirmed that the WBO is willing to entertain the possibility of the Andrade-Parker winner next facing whomever prevails in the forthcoming interim WBC super middleweight title fight between former two-time full champ David Benavidez (25-0, 22KOs) and former IBF middleweight titlist David Lemieux (43-4, 36KOs). The rare interim title unification fight would leave the last man standing as a “super” mandatory challenger of sorts to Alvarez, who continues to explore lucrative offers for his next fight.

Andrade and Hearn have already expressed interest in such a fight, while Benavidez greater prefers a straightaway shot at Alvarez.

For now, Andrade-Parker remains subject to the highest bidder at Thursday’s purse bid hearing. The winning bid must be accompanied by a 20% deposit no later than three business days following the session. Failure to do so will result in the WBO declaring a default and awarding promotional rights to the second-highest bidder.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox