Things got a little heated during Friday’s weigh-in today when challenger Liam Williams attempted to grab WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade’s dreadlocks during their face-off.
Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs) used cat-like quickness to shove a startled-looking Williams (23-2-1, 18 KOs) with a spear-like push to the midsection. At that point, the teams for the two fighters moved forward to separate them before fists were thrown.
Liams seemed to be enjoying himself, but Andrade looked furious at the sign of disrespect. For Andrade, he’s clearly fed up with the antics from Liam, who has been trashing him nonstop since the fight was made, calling him “weird,” questioning whether he’s all there.
Recently, Liam said he was looking forward to knocking Andrade’s dreadlocks into the crowd on April 17th.
Weights: Andrade 159.8 lbs vs. Liam Williams 160 lbs.
Andrade will be defending his WBO 160lb title against his WBO mandatory Williams in the main event on Saturday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida.
Andrade angry after Williams tries to pull his hair
“I ain’t worried about what he brings to the table. It’s the same s*** that everybody else tries to do,” said Andrade to DAZN about Williams trying to pull his hair.
“They come forward and try to show their macho, but they all end up going down. War,” said a visibly upset Andrade when asked what his final prediction is or the fight.
You could tell that Andrade, 32, was still agitated moments after the weigh-in. His voice was noticeably racking while being interviewed, and he sounded like he was almost in tears.
That’s not to say that Andrade was afraid of Liam. It was more of a case of him being very, very angry at him trying to pull his hair. That’s a sign of complete disrespect, and Andrade looks like he wants to make him pay.
Andrade vs. Williams = A big deal in the UK
“I like Liam Williams, I like him as a fighter, I like him as a bloke,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV. “Of course, Demetrius is our guy, I hope he wins in style on Saturday night, and I’m really excited about this fight.
“Demetrius is crying out for a big fight, but when this fight was ordered by the WBO, I was quite happy. That’s a great, that’s a real fight,” said Hearn.
“I can’t say the fight lit fire in America because the U.S fans are saying, ‘When is Demetrius Andrade going to fight a real fighter.’
“But in the UK, this fight [Andrade vs. Williams] is big because they know how good Liam Williams is. This is our fifth fight with Demetrius Andrade.
“He’s not lost one round in any of those fights. People keep turning up day, ‘I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that.’ They haven’t been good enough.
“Is he [Liam Williams] good enough? I’m not sure. But Demetrius is maybe a pound-for-pound top fighter. If he is, Liam Williams is going to have a tough job.
But one thing he will do, Liam, leaves it all in the ring. I’m excited. This is a really good competitive fight,” said Hearn.
Many of them have never seen Liam Williams before, so this will be the first for them for American boxing fans.
The hardcore fans in the U.S have seen Williams from his fights against Liam Smith, Andrew Robinson, Alantez Fox, etc.
Williams lost both fights with Smith, but those matches happened years ago, and he’s improved a great deal in the last four years.
Liam Williams believes he can win
“I just think that he believes he’s going to win,” Hearn said of Liam Williams. “He’s put in good performances. Sometimes people come in and talk the talk, but then you look at their resumes and think, ‘Where are you getting that confidence from?’
“Alantez Fox isn’t a bad fighter. Demetrius went the distance with him, and Liam just destroyed him.
“I feel like he’s [Liam] approved a lot [since his two defeats against Liam Smith]. There are levels, and he might be levels below Demetrius Andrade.
“That could happen, but it’ll be fun finding out because he [Liam Williams] will make sure that he does everything he can. He won’t stop trying to win this fight, Liam Williams.
“Charlo is out there saying, ‘I want to fight the champions.’ Well, fight Demetrius Andrade. There are no excuses.
“It’s going to be the same money that you paid [Sergiy] Derevyanchenko, and it’s going to do a load more buys on pay-per-view,” said Hearn.
If Andrade is a pound-for-pound fighter that some believe him to be, Williams is going to be in trouble on Saturday night, whatever chances that Liam had of finishing the fight on his feet may have gone out the window on Friday with him attempting to pull Andrade’s hair.
