By Brad Slotnick: WBO middleweight champion Demetrius ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade is planning on making an example of Liam ‘The Machine’ Williams by turning him into a “rust bucket” this Saturday night in their headliner on DAZN from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Hollywood, Florida.
Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs) isn’t happy about Williams (23-2-1, 18 KOs), saying recently he was going to knock his dreadlocks into the crowd. Liam also said Andrade is “weird.”
That comment won’t bother Andrade too much, but the accumulation of Williams’ trash talk has added up to the point where he wants to thrash him.
Andrade, 32, is a big step up for Williams, who has been fighting domestic-level guys in the UK largely. Williams’ power is real, but he hasn’t been put in with opposition at the world level other than Liam Smith in a couple of fights in 2017.
Williams lost both of the fights, but they were competitive. Smith may have been too much of a step up for Williams at the time, and he couldn’t deal with his advanced skill level.
It’s unknown why Williams’ management has been matching him against less than the best since the Smith fight.
Some fighters that Liam has fought in the last three years make you shake your head and wonder what his promoters were thinking.
Williams wasn’t Andrade’s first choice
“A lot of people like my style. I believe in the sweet science of hitting and not getting hit,” said Andrade to Matchroom Boxing. “Liam Williams is from the UK; he’s my mandatory.
“He was willing and able to say ‘yes’ to take the fight with me. He wasn’t my first choice or the first one in the WBO rankings.
“The first guy, Jaime Munguia, didn’t want to take the fight, so you go down the list, and here was are with Liam Williams.
“He’s taking the opportunity to fight for his first world title, and it’s against me. I don’t have the luxury of saying who I can and can’t fight.
“What I was expressing to people is a Billy Joe [Saunders] is a more attractive fight, and that’s what I’m looking to do if I can move up to 168 pounds.
“If I can do that, yeah, there’s no Liam Williams fight. That was the perfect match-up and the perfect opportunity for me to go up and test the waters to see if I want to stay there or not,” said Andrade.
Demetrius wanted fights against Saunders, Canelo Alvarez, Gennadiy Golovkin, and Jaime Munguia, but none of them were interested.
Munguia was the #1 ranked contender for Andrade’s WBO 160-lb title, but rather than fight him; the hard-hitting Mexican slugger chose to accept a fight.
Andrade not impressed by Liam’s resume
“In this case, I don’t know what can happen, but yeah, 168 isn’t too far,” said Andrade.
“There’s GGG; there’s Canelo, there’s a bunch of guys. There’s Charlo, there’s David Benavidez, there’s Caleb Plant, and there’s a bunch of guys all over the place.
“But as far as a DAZN and Matchroom, we should have control of the fights we should be making. GGG, Canelo, Billy Joe Saunders. But Billy Joe went his course, and I went my course.
“There’s no one else that is willing to fight me and unify the division, the 168-lb division.
“So I have to go down the ranking, and Liam Williams is the guy. So here we go. I’ve been fighting since I was six years old; I’ve seen it all.
“Everyone looks different on TV. He hasn’t been fighting any credible opponents where people are saying, ‘Oh, he’s going to be the next top guy. Pull up his [Liam Williams] record. 5-32, that was his [Darryl Sharp] record six fights ago.
“They would never put a guy [Joe Mullender] with me that was 11-2. How many fights ago was that? What was that, 3 or 4 fights? I just hope he brings his A-game.
“That’s going to bring the best out of me and be great for the sport of boxing,” said Demetrius.
William’s resume is confusing because he should have continued to fight good opposition after his second loss to Liam Smith. Instead, these are the fighters Williams has fought in the last three years:
- Darryl Sharp (5-32)
- Craig Nicholson (4-2-1)
- Mark Heffron (21-0)
- Joe Mullender (11-2)
- Karim Achour (27-5-3)
- Alantez Fox (26-1-1)
- Andrew Robinson (24-4-1)
Williams should have been fighting better opposition than this in the last three years, but it could have been a confidence issue with his promoters.
Demetrius: Nobody even mentions Williams
“I’m not just fighting guys that are coming to lay down,” said Andrade. “That’s what a lot of people don’t understand. I beat up Sulecki.
“He was nobody and didn’t fight anybody, but when Danny Jacobs fought him, ‘Oh, he was the toughest guy. He gave Danny hell or high water’ and all this other s***.
“But when I get there and show him the difference between styles and IQ and the s*** and the ability I have, they’re like, ‘Oh my, God, Demetrius.’
“It’s like, yo; you’re going to appreciate my style that I bring to the table; that’s just it. The UK is talking s***. It went from Luke Keeler, Liam Williams to Brian Rose.
“It’s one thing to hype a fight and do what you got to do to hype yourself up, but it’s another thing to call me a s*** bag, and [‘watching his deadlocks rain on the fans’] and all this other s***.
“Those are words that you have to be concerned about what you’re going to say. Liam Williams, I can’t speak too much about him because he’s not none of those guys we mentioned.
“Nobody even mentions him when you compare 154, 160, and 168. I never heard of him until now.
“They call him ‘The Machine’ or some s***. He’s barking up the wrong tree. Everybody that is who’s who ends up laying down if it’s a decision or a knockout, they come back and say, ‘Wow, you’re better than we think,'” said Andrade.
Liam Willams gets ignored by boxing fans because he’s fought weak opposition for too many years.