Demetrius Andrade to defend against Liam Williams next

By Boxing News - 03/27/2020 - Comments

By Charles Brun: Demetrius Andrade will be defending his WBO middleweight title next against #7 WBO contender Liam Williams next, according to Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn. Just when the fight will take place is up in the air at the moment, as coronavirus is dictating things right now.

Williams (22-2-1, 19 KOs) is a slight step up for Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs) from his last title defense against Luke Keeler on January 30. Andrade stopped Keeler in the 9th round.

Hearn still not matching Andrade against big names

Eddie is keeping Andrade, 32, busy with fights, but he’s failed miserably when it comes to putting him in with live bodies. Boxing fans want to see Andrade take on Canelo Alvarez, Jermall Charlo, Gennadiy Golovkin, Jaime Munguia and Sergey Derevyanchenko.

None of those fights have happened for Andrade, and he’s getting older fighting no names. In Andrades’s three defenses of his WBO 160-lb strap, he’s beaten Luke Keeler. Artur Akavov and Maciej Sulecki.

Andrade vs. Williams probably won’t interest American boxing fans too much, but the UK fans will like the fight. Williams, 27, can punch, but he’s been outclassed when he’s stepped it up against Liam Smith on two occasions. Smith had a better engine and was able to outdo Williams in the later rounds.

Williams has won his last six fights since 2018, albeit against lower-level opposition. Unfortunately, Williams hasn’t faced anyone good enough to help people decide whether he’s improved since his 2 defeats against Smith. Williams has looked good against the softer opponents he’s been fighting, but again we have no way of knowing if he’s the same fighter that Smith beat twice.

Image: Demetrius Andrade to defend against Liam Williams next

Liam Williams’ wins since 2018

  • Alantez Fox – already beaten by Andrade
  • Karim Achour
  • Joe Mullender
  • Mark Heffron
  • Craig Nicholson
  • Darryl Sharp

Williams’ management has done a tremendous job of matching him against guys that he can beat, but unfortunately, those wins have proven nothing. He still looks like the same flawed fighter than Smith beat on two occasions.

Again, you can’t know if Williams has gotten better in the last 2 years because he hasn’t fought the cream of the crop at 154. Had he at least taken on Brian Castano, Jarrett Hurd, Bakhram Murtazaliev, Erislandy Lara or Erickson Lubin, we’d know if he rates a world title shot. Frankly, it would be a tough ask for Williams to beat any of those fighters given his showings against Smith.

Williams has heavy hands, but his stamina and defense are his major weaknesses in his game. Also, Williams is sluggish on his feet and tends to plod forward in a straight line when attacking.

Williams’ feet are slow, and he fights more like a ponderous heavyweight than a 154-pounder. That’s going to be a problem for Williams when he gets inside the ring with the quick 6-foot Andrade, who has Olympic experience and incredible talent.

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Other fights that Hearn is interested in making are as follows:

  • Callum Johnson vs. Joshua Buatsi – light heavyweight
  • Kell Brook vs. Liam Smith

Callum Johnson and Buatsi will be a great fight. It might be a little early for Buatsi to be taking on a guy like Johnson because he’s been matched largely against fodder level opposition since he turned pro in 2017.

Johnson will be a BIG step up from the fighters that Hearn has been matching Buatsi up against. In Buatsi’s recent fights, he’s beaten Ryan Ford, Marco Antonio Periban and Liam Conroy.

Although Hearn has talked of wanting to match the 27-year-old Buatsi (12-0, 10 KOs) up against IBF/WBC light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev, that would be a REALLY bad idea. That might be one of the reasons why Hearn hasn’t put his foot on the accelerator to make the Beterbiev vs. Buatsi fight.

Beterbiev is far too advanced for Buatsi to fight, and it might wreck his career if Hearn were to put that bout together. If Hearn wants to match Buatsi against Beterbiev, he needs to wait until the Russian fighter gets older and loses a half dozen steps from his game. With Beterbiev’s punching power, he could be a real nightmare for Buatsi well into his 40s.