Kobe Bryant? A case of mistaken identity
BEIJING -- American middleweight boxer Demetrius Andrade looks a little like basketball's Kobe Bryant.
A shorter, skinnier, less muscular version....
OK, he looks nothing like Bryant. But try telling that to the Chinese, who mobbed Andrade when he left his seat at the boxing venue Monday and stepped onto the concourse. Instantly a crowd of several hundred people gathered, pointing, taking pictures or just simply gawking. The crowd eventually backed up the tunnel and into the arena before a squadron of security people, some with flashing lights and warning klaxons, formed a protective semi-circle around him.
"It's happened a couple of times before," Andrade said with a laugh.
Heavyweight Deontay Wilder is routinely mistaken for LeBron James, by the way. But at least he's 6-foot-7.
-- Kevin Baxter
Photos: Boxer Demetrius Andrade, top right, has been mistaken on occasion in Beijing for Kobe Bryant, despite being nearly a foot shorter. Credits: Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times (left) and Jacques DeMarthon/AFP/Getty Images
