Dusty Hernandez-Harrison still had some capacity of self-destruction left in the tank, apparently. Mike Coppinger initially reported, and Dan Rafael later confirmed, that the former welterweight prospect is apparently nowhere near the super middleweight limit a month from fight night. As such, he’s been pulled from a career-best opportunity, and both Coppinger and Rafael name unbeaten D’Mitrius Ballard as a potential replacement.
Ballard (20-0-1, 13 KO) is definitely more palatable than Hernandez-Harrison, even beyond the inherent amusement of confusing the announcers. The 27-year-old “Big Meech” is a legitimate prospect at 160 pounds and fought Yamaguchi Falcao to a competitive draw this past December. He’s not a super middleweight, but neither is Andrade (29-0, 18 KO), so it’s basically just a middleweight fight where neither have to cut as much weight.
Should Andrade come out victorious, he’ll theoretically face WBO mandatory challenger Liam Williams early next year. “The Machine” was last seen demolishing Andrew Robinson in 88 seconds earlier this month.