NEW YORK (AP) — Demetrius Andrade easily defended his WBO middleweight title Friday night, stopping Russia's Artur Akavov in the 12th round to remain unbeaten. Andrade (27-0, 17 KOs) seemed headed to a lopsided decision victory before referee Arthur Mercante called a sudden and surprising end to the fight with about a half-minute left when Andrade landed a punch that knocked Akavov backward a bit. The angry Akavov shoved Mercante away a couple times, but that was about the best contact he made in the fight. Otherwise, nearly everything of note was landed by the champion from Providence, Rhode Island, in the first defense of the title he won in October. Andrade owns the lone major middleweight belt that won't be on the line when Canelo Alvarez faces Danny Jacobs on May 4 in a unification bout that was announced Thursday, and will hope for bigger fights in the future than the mismatch in the Theater in Madison Square Garden. Akavov (16-3) fell short in his second title shot, having lost to Billy Joe Saunders in 2016. Andrade was supposed to face Saunders in October, but Saunders was stripped of his belt for testing positive for a banned substance.Read more on NewsOK.com