Demetrius Andrade celebrates his victory over Magomed Nurudinov of Belarus during the World Boxing Championships last fall in Chicago.

AP / Brian Kersey

CRANSTON — The biggest honor for an amateur athlete is to represent his or her country in the Olympics.

In less than a month, Providence boxer Demetrius Andrade, who has been ranked the top U.S. welterweight (152 pounds) for more than three years, will do exactly that at the Beijing Games.

“It means the world to me to fight for the USA at the Olympics,” said Andrade, 20, who trains at the 401 Boxing Gym, in Cranston.

Andrade earned a place on Team USA after putting on several dominating performances at the 2007 Golden Gloves (April 30 –May 5) and the United States Olympic Trials, which were held last Aug. 20-26 in Houston.

He has been living and training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., for the last 10 months. The 6-foot-1 phenom returned to Providence on July 11 for a brief visit with family and friends, and to work out one more time with David Keefe and his father, Paul, who are his co-coaches here before flying back to Colorado last Sunday.

“I’ve sacrificed a lot to get this far, and I’m going to show the world what I can do in Beijing,” Andrade said.

Andrade says he wants to do more than just compete in the Olympics.

“My goal is to win the gold,” Andrade said.

Andrade is considered to be one of America’s favorites to bring home a medal. He is one of only two world champions on Team USA. He has not lost a fight against American competition in the 152-pound weight class in more than three years.

“I feel he will do well,” Keefe said of Andrade’s chances at the Olympics. “I think he will medal. If we get a fair shake with the judges, he should bring a gold back to Providence. The main thing for him is to take one fight at a time, because there are no do-overs.”

Andrade, who has competed only once this season (a victory in a Team USA-Russia event), won the 2005 and 2006 U.S. Championships welterweight crown but had to withdraw from the U.S. Championships last year because of a medical emergency.

In addition, he won the 2006 and 2007 National Golden Gloves Tournament. At the Olympic Trials, Andrade dominated his three opponents, stopping David Lopez in the quarterfinals and Charles Hatley in the semifinals before earning a convincing 21-13 victory over Keith Thurman for the championship and to earn his spot on the national team.

In international competition, Andrade won a world title at the AIBA World Championships (Association International de Boxe Amateur) last year. He was never in danger of losing any of his fights at the World Championships, winning all his bouts by an average of 17 points before stopping Non Boonjumnong, of Thailand, in the finals for the world title.

Andrade also won the silver medal at the Pan Am Games last year. He lost a controversial decision to Pedro Lima of Brazil, 7-6.

“That was a good experience,” Andrade said. “I learned different techniques and I learned what punches score. But in the finals I fought a guy from Brazil and the tournament was in Brazil — but I feel like I won.”

Andrade has been fighting against international competition since he was 16 and he says that will give him a big advantage over everybody else at the Olympics.

“I’m pretty much know every style,” Andrade said. “I’ve fought the Russians, the Cubans … everybody.”

Andrade began boxing when he was 6 under the tutelage of his father and later, Keefe.

“Demetrius has settled down a lot,” Keefe said. “When he was a kid, he was a bit wild like most kids are. Myself and Paul used to laugh about his wild uppercuts and hooks, that used to put him way out of position. Now he is relaxed, and his punches are more precise. He has always been able to make adjustments on the go, but off his adjustments he now throws nice crisp punches.”

Looking back, Demetrius Andrade says he always believed he would make it to the Olympics.

“When you are little, you always think that you are going to do it because that’s what you thought you were going to do. But then when reality kicks in, you find out it’s harder than what you thought it would be.

“I just went through the hard work, and thanks to David Keefe and Paul Andrade, they brought me up to where I am at now, and I tell all of the little kids that they can do the same thing also. All they have to do is stick to it and stay focused.”

As for the Olympics, Keefe says Andrade’s biggest competition will be Hanati Silamu, from China, Magomed Nurudinov, from Belarus, and Kim Jung-Joo, of South Korea.

“This is a dream come true,” Andrade said. “I’m going to come home with the gold.”

roblee@projo.com