• Boxing

Andrade stops Rose by seventh-round knockout

Junior middleweight titlist Demetrius Andrade didn't want to just retain his belt against mandatory challenger Brian Rose.

Andrade also wanted to look impressive doing it in order to make his case that he deserves to face the bigger names in his division, including the likes of Canelo Alvarez and champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Although facing a heavy underdog, Andrade was explosive and impressive as he destroyed Rose in a one-sided seventh-round knockout on Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in the co-feature of the card headlined by junior welterweight titlist Ruslan Provodnikov's defense against Chris Algieri.

"I'm the best in the world," Andrade said. "I was taking my time and my power was affecting him. I took Round 5 off to see the openings, the sixth round I picked it up, and the seventh round he had to go."

Andrade (21-0, 14 KOs), a 26-year-old southpaw from Providence, Rhode Island, started fast, almost immediately dropping Rose, 29, of England, with a straight left hand in the first round. He could barely miss with the left as Rose rarely moved his head and displayed little defense.

In the third round, Andrade, who was making the first defense of the vacant 154-pound title he won by decision against Vanes Martirosyan in November, dropped Rose (25-2-1, 7 KOs) again, this time clobbering him with a right hook.

In between the knockdowns, Andrade strafed him with combinations to the head and body, opened a bloody cut on the bridge of his nose and landed almost at will.

It got even worse for Rose in the seventh round as Andrade - who predicted a knockout - battered him all over the ring, prompting his corner to throw in the towel just as referee Michael Griffin was intervening at 1 minute, 19 seconds.

"I earned my right to be here, but he was better than I thought he would be," Rose said. "He may be one of the best out there in the game. I just couldn't keep up with him and I couldn't keep him off of me."

Andrade, a 2008 US Olympian and 2007 world amateur champion, landed 149 of 452 punches (33%) while Rose, whose 11-fight winning streak ended, was limited to landing just 30 of 179 blows (17%).

This article first appeared on ESPN.com

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