Liam ‘The Machine’ Williams (23-2-1, 18 KOs) has a big potentially life-changing fight tonight against WBO middleweight champion Demetrius ‘Boo Andrade live on DAZN at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida.
Williams is confident that he’s going to upset the applecart by defeating the favorite Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs) to take his WBO strap, and move on to bigger and better things.
It’s not going to be easy for the 28-year-old visiting fighter Williams to beat the slippery Andrade because he’s someone that hasn’t been involved in a tough fight since his win over Jack Culcay four years ago in 2017.
Andrade has proven to be one of the best if not the best fighter at 160 over the years and been avoided by the top guys in the weight class because of that.
In a sign of their deep respect for the 2008 U.S Olympian Andrade, Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin, Jermall Charlo, and Billy Joe Saunders have shown no interest in wanting to share the ring with him.
Perhaps Liam Williams wouldn’t want any part of Andrade either if he were popular, and held one or more world titles.
Williams, 28, has no other choice but to tangle with the unbeaten Andrade because it’s the only way he’s going to be able to potentially get his hands on a world title.
Williams isn’t ranked in the top 15 by the IBF, WBA, and WBC sanctioning bodies, so his only option to win a world title is through Andrade.
Williams to pressure Andrade
“Physically and mentally I’m in a great place, and I don’t think I can get a lot better,” said Liam Williams to DAZN.
“Life is never 100% perfect for anyone, but right now I’m in a very good place, and I’m happy with the way things are going in terms of boxing and general life.
“I think it’s going to be 70% physical because obviously, I’m going to need to put pressure on him and make him work really hard and not give him too many breaks in the action,” Williams said of Andrade.
“I don’t think I can go in there crash-bang guns blazing. It’s not going to work like that. I’m going to need to have my mind screwed on and approaching it the correct way,” said Williams about his strategy for the Andrade fight.
If Williams doesn’t apply pressure on the tall 6’1″ Andrade, he’s going to get picked apart on the outside and easily beaten.
If Andrade can dominate the contest from the outside, he’ll coast for 12 rounds and not look to get his hands dirty. We saw that in many of Andrade’s fights as a pro, which is arguably what’s kept him from becoming a star.
When facing weak opposition, Andrade has shown a tendency to be content to box and not shoot for the knockout.
That’s why it’s up to Williams to apply pressure on all night because he’s going to get jabbed silly if he doesn’t force Andrade to step out of his comfort zone at some point in the fight.
Williams: I’m going to knockout Andrade
“I’ve shown him some respect but I’ve also disrespected him as well because there are things I like and things I don’t like about him,” Liam said about how he’s interacted with Demetrius during the build-up to their headliner fight on DAZN tonight.
“I suppose that’s the way of life. I do think I’m going to have too much for him. You have to respect his ability and the experience he’s got, but essentially, I believe I’m going to beat him and knock him out,” said Williams about his prediction for the Andrade fight.
Andrade, 32, will need to show some more gears in his game tonight if he wants to win the fight and not anger the boxing public. His performance against Maciej Sulecki in 2019 put the fans asleep with how he played it safe after dropping the Polish fighter in the first round.
Prediction
Andrade wins tonight by a one-sided 12 round decision. Williams can punch like no tomorrow, but there are no bells or whistles in his game that will cause Andrade issues.
You can say that Williams is another Walter Kautondokwa type of fighter, and Andrade will school him all night long in a dull, one-sided fight.
