By Jake Donovan
Demetrius Andrade epitomized the spirit of Shobox in his debut on the long-running Showtime series. The unbeaten super welterweight prospect delivered a brilliant performance in dominating Freddy Hernandez over ten rounds Friday evening at the Paramount Theatre in Huntington, New York.
Scores were 100-89 across the board in the evening's main event.
Andrade has long been criticized as a dull and protected fighter. The 2008 U.S. Olympic boxing participant has been brought along at a deliberate pace, with his fights rarely leaving much to desire.
All of that changed on Friday, fighting for the first time under the tutelage of red hot trainer Virgil Hunter, best known for his work with super middleweight king Andre Ward. Andrade still has a way to go before reaching contender status, never mind the championship level. On this evening, however, he looked like the real deal, not squandering a golden opportunity to shine.
The bout's lone knockdown was scored in round six, when Andrade floored Hernandez with an overhand right. The sequence came on the heels of a fifth round that was Andrade's best of the fight prior to that point.
With the win easily in the bag, Andrade could have easily reverted to form and coasted to the finish line. Instead, the Providence, R.I. native continued to apply pressure, anxious to stop Hernandez and leave a lasting impression on the Long Island crowd.
The stoppage win didn't come, though for a change it can't be attributed to a lack of trying. Andrade had Hernandez hurt in the eighth round and again in the final three minutes, but in the end was forced to settle for a clean sweep on all three cards.
Andrade improves to 19-0 (13KO) with the win, while Hernandez heads back to Mexico with his third loss in four fights as he falls to 30-4 (20KO).
The bout marked a series of firsts for Andrade - his first on Showtime, in New York, of the year and with Virgil Hunter. It can also be argued that the night served as the first time in his still young career in which he left a lasting impression.
In the televised co-feature, Raymond Serrano's once promising career is suddenly in free-fall. The Philly prospect suffered his second consecutive knockout loss, this coming at the hands of once-beaten Emmanuel Taylor of Maryland.
Serrano was trapped along the ropes and under heavy fire before being rescued by the referee. The official time was 1:42 of round six.
Taylor improves to 16-1 (11KO) with the win, his second straight. Serrano falls to 18-2 (8KO), with the losses coming in his last two fights.
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