Andrade vs Williams: Fight preview

ales’ Liam Williams will seek to become a world champion when he battles Demetrius Andrade in Florida on Saturday night.

‘The Machine’ has looked excellent since his pair of contentious super-welterweight defeats against Liam Smith back in 2017, with his victory over Alantez Fox making him the mandatory challenger for the WBO middleweight belt held by American Andrade since 2018.

Williams’ run of impressive stoppages at middleweight continued in October, when he successfully defended his British belt in the first round against Andrew Robinson to make it seven in a row.

But Andrade is a far, far tougher test. ‘Boo Boo’, after a decorated amateur career, is an undefeated two-weight world champion who has defended the WBO title he won against Walter Kautondokwa four times in triumphs over Artur Akavov, Maciej Sulecki and most recently Ireland’s Luke Keeler in January 2020.

Another victory this weekend would put him one step closer to the big-name fights he craves against the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin.

Demetrius Andrade vs Liam Williams

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Andrade vs Williams takes place on Saturday, April 17, 2021 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood in Hollywood, Florida.

The main event is expected at approximately 10:30pm BST, though the exact time will depend on the length of those earlier bouts, with the undercard getting underway at around 8pm.

Saturday’s event is being shown live on sports subscription streaming service DAZN, which is currently available in the UK for £1.99 per month.

Williams has been in imperious form at middleweight, stopping all before him and only being taken past the fifth round once in seven bouts after bouncing back from those successive defeats by Smith in blistering fashion.

But most of those were British-level fights, so it will be intriguing to see how he fares in an obvious step up here.

Skilled southpaw Andrade is a hugely experienced champion fighting on home soil and boasts slight height and reach advantages.