| WBO INTERNATIONAL SUPER middleweight champion Zach Parker, along with his promoter Frank Warren and manager Neil Marsh, convened at the BT Sport Studios for the opening press conference ahead of his challenge for the WBO Interim world title against the unbeaten two-weight world champion Demetrius Andrade on May 21. Pride Park Stadium, the home of Derby County Football Club will play host to the spectacular event. Andrade, who is awaiting a passport renewal, joined proceedings over Zoom and below is a selection of key quotes from the media gathering. Photos from the press conference can be downloaded here. Frank Warren “On a number of fronts it was important to win the purse bid for this fight. It is for the Interim title so for the winner there is Canelo – who is the current champion – fighting next at light heavyweight. Is he going to stay at that weight where the winner of this will get a shot at him because the mandatory will be due. If he gives up the title the winner of this Interim title will be installed as champion. “From the perspective of Zach I was determined to win the purse bid and give him every opportunity I can because he is with us and is a joy to work with. He has been No.1 with the WBO for quite a while now and is only 27 years of age. He is not only fighting in his hometown, he is fighting at Pride Park, home of his local football club. The reason we are putting it on there is because I want the fans in Derby to get behind him and I am a big believer in trying to get every advantage you can for your fighter. “Demetrius is a two-weight, three-time world champion who is moving up to super middleweight, while I feel Zach is bordering on being a light heavyweight. He is very underestimated in my opinion as a boxer. We know he can punch and I hope the advantages we have secured will translate to a win for him on the night against a real good quality fighter in Demetrius, who we all respect.” Zach Parker “This is the biggest fight of my career and I am going to take it with both hands. He is a two-weight world champion but he is getting on a bit now and I just think it is my time because I am up and coming. “I want to say thanks to Frank Warren and all my team for getting behind me and getting this in Derby, especially at my football club at Pride Park. I am just looking forward to the fight now. “I think everything is going in my favour, Obviously I am young, it is happening in my backyard and the reaction from the crowd has been huge. It will favour me and I will show it on fight night. “He is coming up a weight and I just think I am too big and too strong. You’ve seen in other fights he’s been hurt. When I land I won’t let up and I will get him out of there.” Demetrius Andrade “I can’t wait to get over to England and I believe Frank Warren is going to do a great job getting the Derby fans and my fans as well into the stadium. It will be a great fight, I can’t wait to showcase my skills and talent and put on a great performance. “I am excited to be coming over because I am a world champ who has travelled all over the world and been in the lion’s den plenty of times. Who am I to say I am the best if I can’t go to someone’s back yard and give him an arse-whooping. That is just how it is. Anybody else who lost a purse bid might have pulled out and gone a different route, but that is not me and Zach is going to get the opportunity to have the biggest fight of his life. “It is a great opportunity for him, for me, and the best will move on and forward. This is the fight game so anyone I get in the ring with I am going to lay hands on and bash up. I look at Zach as a young kid trying to make a name for himself and he is going to bring his A-game and the best performance of his life against me. “Hopefully he brings out the best in me and we have a great performance.” Neil Marsh “Me and Zach have been together for six years now and it has been tough getting here. He’d be a much bigger name now if the previous people had promoted him correctly and 14-15 months ago we were looking for a promoter who could take us all the way to the top. We didn’t speak to any other promoter because it was Frank Warren who we wanted to lead us into this next chapter. “You only need to look at Frank’s history to know why we signed with him. He honoured his word and got us the development fights and collectively as a team we believe Zach is ready to go. We are not underestimating Demetrius, who is avoided in the US and I think people could have done a better job for him, hence why he has entered into this agreement with Zach Parker. “Boxing is about timing and this kid here deserves every bit of spotlight he is going to get. The kid is a beast and, because people haven’t seen him on the big stage enough, there is a question mark over him. Let’s be honest, Demetrius’ passport has expired because he didn’t expect to be coming to England. No disrespect, but I think he has got greedy and they are all thinking about Canelo money. “He is going to come to Derby and meet Zach Parker, who is not Liam Williams or Brian Rose. This is a real ding-dong of a fight and my man is going to come out on top.”Tickets for Parker v Andrade start from £55 and are available exclusively from dcfc.co.uk with £10 from every ticket sold going to DCFC to help the club through the current financial hardship.Secure your place to support Zach and the club on a not-to-be-missed night at the Pride Park Stadium! A full undercard will be announced in due course. Please Note: This event is subject to contract and licence approval. |
Tag: Demetrius Andrade
Parker Vs Andrade Interim Title Clash May 21st
| Pride Park Stadium, home of Derby County Football Club, will stage the WBO Interim Super Middleweight world title clash between Zach Parker and the unbeaten two-weight world champion Demetrius Andrade on Saturday, 21st May 2022, live on BT Sport. In what will be a huge occasion for knockout artist Parker 22-0 (16 KOs) and the city of Derby, the lifelong fan of the Rams will get to live out his dream of fighting on the pitch of his local football club. With the clubs financial struggles this season being well known, Queensberry Promotions knew there was a responsibility to help, so £10 from each ticket sold goes directly back to the club to support the future of DCFC. Since teaming up with Frank Warren and Queensberry, the 27-year-old has clocked up three spectacular and emphatic wins to reinforce his position as No.1 contender in the WBO rankings. Parker wowed BT Sport viewers with brutal knockouts of Vaughn Alexander, Sherzod Khusanov and Marcus Morrison. None of the three men had previously been stopped. “This is a dream come true,” said Parker. “As a fighter you have various hopes when you start out in the sport. I think every one of us dreams of headlining a show at the football team you support, I don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet to be honest. “It will be incredible to walk-out and see the stadium packed with fans, I can’t wait. Demetrius is a great champion and props to him for coming over here but I know I have the beating of him, I’m too big for him. We’ll see on the 21st, but someone’s ‘0’ has got to go!” Andrade, 34, widely known as Boo Boo, began his world championship reign at super welterweight with victory over Vanes Martirosyan in 2013. The WBO title was defended on four occasions, including a stoppage victory over Britain’s Brian Rose in 2014. His middleweight crusade began in 2018 when he won the vacant WBO title by virtue of a points verdict over Walter Kautondokwa. His title at 160lbs has been defended five times and the super-slick southpaw remains champion at the weight. Notable wins at middleweight have come over Liam Williams and the Irishmen Luke Keeler and Jason Quigley. “There can be no questioning the pedigree of Demetrius Andrade,” said promoter Frank Warren. “It is why we went above and beyond to win the purse bid to give our man every crucial advantage. “It is going to be such a special night on 21st May and I feel sure the Derby public will come out in force to roar Zach on in the biggest fight of his career. “When we teamed up with Zach he revealed his dream of fighting at Pride Park – where he is a dedicated supporter of his home team – and we set about making his dream become a reality. Added to that, the £10 going to the club is something I hope inspires the fans to come and support Zach and DCFC in even larger numbers than we predict. “We have done this before in recent years for Josh Warrington in Leeds and Carl Frampton in Belfast and both were successful on magical nights. I see no reason at all why Zach cannot experience similar joy. “Andrade is top-drawer and we know this, but he is moving up a weight to super middle, which is natural territory for Zach and he is a monster at the weight. Other British and Irish fighters have struggled to fathom out Andrade, but Zach is the complete package. Not only does he carry a huge punch, but he is also tall and technical with an excellent boxing brain. “It all adds up to a cracking fight and a huge night for Derby. I would like to extend my thanks to everyone at the club who have helped to make this happen.” Tickets for Zach Parker vs Demetrius Andrade at Pride Park on Saturday, 21st May go on sale at 11am on Thursday, 31st March. Fans are advised to sign-up for Ticket Alerts at frankwarren.com to receive the ticket link directly to their inboxes. A full undercard will be announced in due course. Please Note: This event is subject to contract and licence approval. |
