Amateur boxing star Demetrius Andrade to be honored

U.S. amateur boxing star Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade, coming off of his highly controversial Silver Medal performance at last week’s Pan-American games in Rio de Janeiro, will be honored August 10 at “Takin’ It To The River,” featuring WBC No. 2 rated cruiserweight Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey, as part of “The Budweiser Night at the Fights” series at Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

“Takin’ It To The River,” promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc., will be taped live and air Saturday night, Aug. 11 at 7:00 PM/ET on CN8, The Comcast Network and Cox Sports Television.

Andrade, of Providence, is the 2-time U.S. Championships and 2-time National Golden Gloves champion. The stylish welterweight (152 lbs.) was edged, 7-6, in last Friday’s gold medal match to Brazilian hometown favorite Pedro Lima.

“Anyone who watched knows that “Boo Boo’ was robbed,” CES president Jimmy Burchfield said. “He easily won that fight and is the uncrowned Pan-Am gold medal champion. There were a few times that Andrade threw a punch and his opponent got the point. I guess he just wasn’t going to beat a Brazilian fighter in Brazil no matter what he did.

“We are going to honor “Boo Boo’ for all he’s already accomplished in amateur boxing and how well he has represented Rhode Island and New England. Demetrious Andrade will become the first amateur boxer inducted into the CES Ring of Honor. We want to show “Boo Boo’ our support and, I truly believe, he will go to China next year and return home to Providence with an Olympic gold medal.”

Andrade will join charter members Vinny Paz, “Irish” Micky Ward and Marlon Starling, as well as “El Gallo” Jose Antonio Rivera, “Iceman” John Scully and the late trainer Johnny Duke in the prestigious CES Ring of Honor.

Godfrey (15-0, 9 KOs), who is also ranked No. 4 by the IBF and No. 6 by the WBA, risks his ratings as well as a potential world title shot within a year by fighting tough Derrick “D-Train” Brown (13-2-3, 11 KOs), who is trained by revered women’s boxing great Christy Martin, in the main event for Godfrey’s NABF championship belt. The unbeaten Providence cruiserweight also is the reigning NABA, USNBC and WBC Continental Americas title holder.

Nine-time U.S. national amateur champion Aaron Williams (13-0-1, 9 KOs), of Las Vegas, is slated to fight in the co-feature. An entertaining undercard has popular Providence light heavyweight Jarrod Tillinghast (9-0, 3 KOs), Providence crowd favorite Richard “Bobo” Starnino (8-2-1, 1 KO) faces New Bedford (MA) super middleweight Eric Pinarreta, Marshfield (MA) light heavyweight Manuel Antonio Lopes (2-0, 1 KO), fighting out of Brockton, and Whitman (MA)-born light heavyweight Mark “The Italian Bazooka” DeLuca (2-0, 2 KOs), representing the same famed North End of Boston that once produced former world welterweight champion Tony DeMarco, Russian middleweight Andrey Nevsky (2-0, 2 KOs), now living in Hyannis (MA) and fighting out of Worcester (MA), and New Hampshire cruiserweight Rich Gingras (2-0, 2 KOs), 2006 Ringside World amateur heavyweight champion. All bouts and fighters are subject to change.

Tickets for “Takin’ It To The River” are priced at $35.00, $45.00, (Bronze), $65.00 (Silver), $100.00 (Gold) and $150.00 (Jimmy’s Platinum Club) and may be purchased by calling CES (401.724.2253/2254), going on line at www.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, at the Twin River Event Center (100 Twin River Road, Lincoln), RI), or any TicketMaster location. Contact CES (401.724.2253/2254/www.cesboxing.com) or Twin River Event Center (877.82.RIVER/ www.twinriver.com) for more information. Doors open at 6 PM/ET, first bout at 7 PM/ET.