Demetrius Andrade has hit another bump in the road.

An untimely shoulder injury recently suffered in training camp has forced the unbeaten two-division titlist has caused a delay in his scheduled interim WBO super middleweight title fight with Zach Parker. The bout was due to take place May 21 at Pride Park in Parker’s home region of Derby, England.

“Queensberry Promotions have 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,” Frank Warren, Parker’s promoter, confirmed in a statement through his Queensberry Promotions company. “It is with great regret that the decision has been made to postpone the event until the extent of the injury is fully established.”

ESPN.com boxing insider Mike Coppinger first reported the development Sunday evening, citing sources in revealing that Andrade (31-0, 19KOs) injured his right shoulder. Forthcoming medical reports will dictate the rest and recovery process for the unbeaten southpaw from Providence, Rhode Island before resuming training camp.

The fight came about as an alternative to Andrade pursuing yet another undesirable mandatory title defense, as he was ordered to next face Kazakhstan’s Janibek Alimkhanuly. The WBO called for a negotiation period last November 30, less than two weeks after both posted their most recent wins on back-to-back evenings.

Andrade tore through Ireland’s Jason Quigley inside of two rounds on November 19 in Manchester, New England—an hour or so from his Providence hometown for the fifth successful defense of his WBO middleweight title. Andrade previously faced and outpointed mandatory challenger Luke Williams last April 17, only to be hit with yet another ordered title fight by the WBO which stalled his continued pursuit of further unifying the middleweight titles.

Alimkhanuly entered the mix with a pair of eighth-round stoppages over former secondary titleholders, including his conquering of Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam last November 20 in Las Vegas. The unbeaten middleweight called for a title shot soon thereafter, with the WBO eager to grant his wish.

Andrade delayed talks as his team pursued the possibility of facing England’s Parker (22-0, 16KOs), the WBO mandatory challenger to undisputed super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. Such talks stalled, leading the WBO to send Andrade-Alimkhanuly to a purse bid which was delayed several times and canceled outright once determined that Andrade was ready to commit to an interim title fight with Parker at the heavier weight.

Queensberry Promotions won the purse bid to gain promotional rights to the title fight, with plans to stage in England forcing Andrade to hit the road for the second time in his career. His lone other fight outside the U.S. came in a May 2017 win over Jack Culcay to win the WBA junior middleweight title in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

Andrade moved up in weight, where he claimed the WBO middleweight title just two fights later.

Parker advanced to the top spot in the WBO super middleweight rankings following an 11th round knockout of Rohan Murdock in March 2020, just prior to the pandemic. Three wins have followed before finally being named the mandatory challenger, though a clear shot at the title remains on hold.

Alvarez (57-1-2, 39KOs) will next challenge WBA light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol (19-0, 11KOs) this Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. With a win, Alvarez will then next face WBA/IBF middleweight titlist Gennadiy Golovkin (42-1-1, 37KOs), who will move up to super middleweight for their trilogy bout targeted for September 17 at a location to be determined.

All four sanctioning bodies are on board with this course of action, with the WBO and WBC both approving interim title fights to the challengers in waiting. Former two-time WBC super middleweight titlist David Benavidez (25-0, 22KOs) was met with a similar predicament, as his desire to next face Alvarez was instead countered with permission to enter an interim title fight versus Montreal’s David Lemieux (43-4, 36KOs). Their bout remains on course for May 21 in Glendale, Arizona, a short distance from Benavidez’s Phoenix hometown.

The WBC and WBO have both discussed the idea of having the winners of the interim title fights face each other to create a “unified mandatory contender.” Andrade’s injury complicates those plans, as there remsins uncertainty as to when his fight with Parker can move forward.

“A further update will be released in the coming days with a revised fight date and information for ticket buyers,” Warren noted.

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