Demetrius Andrade to face Liam Williams in February in U.S

By Boxing News - 11/09/2020 - Comments

By Charles Brun: Demetrius Andrade will be defending his WBO middleweight title against mandatory Liam Williams in February 2021 in Providence, Rhode Island. Andrade, 32, will be fighting in his backyard in Providence, but it’s unclear whether fans will be present.

Andrade’s promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing told SiriusXMBoxing that Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs) will be defending his WBO 160-lb strap against #2 WBO Williams (23-2-1, 18 KOs).

Before defending his WBO strap against the hard-hitting 28-year-old Williams, Andrade will be fighting a 10-rounder against the capable Dusty Hernandez-Harrison (34-0-1, 20 KOs) on November 27th.

Demetrius to take a tune-up on November 27th

Andrade and Hernandez-Harrison will be fighting on the undercard of Daniel Jacobs vs. Gabriel Rosado on DAZN from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Britain’s Williams has been pining away for a title shot since he turned pro in 2011, and he’s finally getting a chance.

Image: Demetrius Andrade to face Liam Williams in February in U.S

When Williams was in a position to line himself up for a crack at the WBO title in 2017, he was twice beaten by Liam Smith. Those defeats showed the limitations that Williams has. He’s a good fighter, but when steps up, he’s exposed.

Since losing twice to Smith, Williams has seven consecutive fights, albeit against domestic level opposition. He hasn’t fought a world-class opponent since his defeat to Liam Smith.

In Williams’ last seven fights, he’s beaten these guys:

  • Andrew Robinson – KO 1
  • Alantez Fox – TKO 5
  • Karim AchourĀ  – TKO 2
  • Joe Mullender KO 2
  • Mark Heffron – TKO 10
  • Craig Nicholson – KO 2
  • Darryl Sharp – TKO 3

Williams will have a hard time against the 2008 U.S Olympian Andrade, who has boxing skills, speed, and power that will give him fits. Being a big puncher won’t be enough for Williams. For him to have a chance against a talented fighter like Andrade, he needs experience, which has very little of.

Liam Williams badly lacking in experience

It’s too bad Williams’ promoters have been matching him so poorly all these years. If Williams had been matched against talented opposition from day one, he might not have lost to Liam Smith in 2017, and he’d have a better chance against Andrade.

It’s all well and good that Williams has a seven-fight winning streak, but that’s not going to help him when he gets in there with Andrade. Those seven fodder-level opponents that Williams has beaten have done nothing to prepare him for Demetrius.

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It was previously believed that Andrade would vacate his WBO title, and move up to 168 to go after arguably the weakest link among the champions in WBO belt-holder Billy Joe Saunders.

Andrade can’t count on Saunders giving him a title shot because he failed to fight him in 2018 when he was Billy Joe’s mandatory to his WBO 160lb strap.

Saunders ended up vacating the title and moving up to 168 to pick up the vacant WBO belt against little known German fighter Shefat Isufi.