In a 12-round co-feature bout on SHOWTIME’s  Saturday night Timothy Bradley- Kendall Holt championship unification card,  Librado Andrade earned a unanimous decision over the Ukraine’s Vitali  Tsypko at the Bell Center in Montreal, Canada. 

Andrade (27-2 with 21 KOs) was making his first appearance since his disputed decision loss to “IBF” champion Lucien Bute in the same Montreal ring six months earlier.  Tsypko (22-2 with 12 KOs) was riding a three bout winning streak after a loss to Jeff Lacy in December 2006. 

In what was billed as a Super Middleweight “IBF Title Eliminator”, the 3^rd ranked Andrade controlled most of the action against the 2^nd ranked Tsypko.  After a “feeling out” opening round, Andrade landed a strong right hand punch flush on the jaw of the southpaw Tsypko that dropped him for an 8-count early in the second round.  A cautious Andrade was unable to land any other serious punches on his opponent, who lasted until the bell sounded to end the round. 

In the third round, Andrade stepped up his attack and again had the upper hand as he landed some effective body punches and a few head shots that had a wobbly Tsypko holding on.   The subsequent rounds found Andrade winning most of the exchanges with his most affective punches being the uppercut and right hand punches.  Tsypko just did not have the power to hold off his stronger and more active opponent.    

Early in the seventh stanza, Andrade once again dropped Tsypko with a solid right hand followed by an short uppercut.  A wobbly Tsypko absorbed some strong punches the rest of the round, as he was battered and seemed ready to go down again.  However, he fought back gamely, landing some effective punches of his own, and was able to survived the onslaught until round’s end.  The appreciative crowd in attendance, which included the “IBF” Super Middleweight champion Lucien Bute at ringside, gave both fighters a well deserved ovation at round’s end. 

The fight’s pattern remained the same in the following rounds, with Andrade pressing the action and his opponent trying to counter punch.   In the 11^th round, Andrade was not hampered by a slight cut over his left eye caused by an unintentional head.  Realizing he was hopelessly behind in the 12^th and final round, the loser tried to press the action looking for a knockout.  However, several effective combinations from Andrade hurt Tsypko, and he was once again on unsteady legs, on the verge of being stopped.  He managed to survive the round in spite of having been wobbled, with the decision in favor of Andrade only a formality. 

Two of the judges favored Andrade by scores of 117-109 with the remaining judge’s score 0f 120-106 also in favor of Andrade. 

Tsypko’s loss drops his career record to 22-3 with 12 KOs. 

The victory raised Andrade’s record to 28-2 with 21 KOs, and positions him as the mandatory top challenger for Lucian Bute’s “IBF” Super Middleweight title. More importantly to Andrade, it gives him the opportunity to avenge the bitter and controversial loss to the champion only months before.  

4-4-2009