LIAM WILLIAMS has promised promoter Frank Warren that he’ll become his 149th World Champion by “smashing” WBO World Middleweight Champion Demetrius Andrade this weekend. Mandatory challenger Williams (23-2-1, 18 KOs) faces unbeaten Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs) in Miami on Saturday, following a tense build-up where both men have chucked verbal artillery.
Williams has been in Florida for more than a week, paying extra to acclimatise better to the five hour time difference. He arrived in the Sunshine State four days earlier than expected.
“I am going to smash his face in on Saturday night and do some serious damage,” said Williams to host Dev Sahni on The Lockdown.
“When he is in with lower level fighters he has a bit of time to fuss around and do that stuff. I am going to be in his face giving it to him.
“You wont see any showboating or fussing around from Andrade because he will be under too much pressure.
“I don’t think he will cope with my intensity. I am going to hit him and hurt him regularly as well. He will be doing the running.
“Everybody says Andrade has underestimated me, but he isn’t a silly man. He is a three-time world champion for a reason.
“He has seen me, he knows what I brings to the table and I don’t think he will be dumb enough to underestimate me because he knows what I bring.”
The fired-up Welsh ace insists he will even be ready for the American champion before the first bell if Andrade continues the trash talk.
Liam said: “He doesn’t want to front me up before the fight because I’ll stick it on him a little bit earlier than Saturday if that’s what he wants.
“I am confident in my own ability. I am not big-headed and don’t boast. I just feel confident in my ability and he is a idiot with what he chats.
“He talks about his power, but how many people has he knocked spark out and you see them sleeping? Not many. He has decent power, average but nothing more.
“Maybe I am getting into his head a bit, but that is not really my ultimate goal. I don’t feel I need to get under his skin to beat him.”
When Williams returns home, hopefully with the WBO World title wrapped around his waist he is looking forward to two weeks of top class action live on BT Sport.
Denzel Bentley makes the first defence of his British Middleweight title against Commonwealth champion Felix Cash on Saturday April 24.
If Bentley comes through against his mandatory contender a fight against Williams becomes a serious possibility.
Williams isn’t looking that far ahead, but he cannot wait to see Battersea’s Bentley and Cash slug it out for his old belt.
Williams who has sparred with Cash added: “Bentley looks very good but I’ve not seen enough of him to comment.
“Of course he beat Mark Heffron who I defeated. No disrespect to Mark, but I do feel I took the fight out of him a little bit.
“I don’t think he has shown the same bad intentions or been the same since. I think Bentley beat a bit of a faded Heffron.
“It’s a good fight, but if I put my money on one man from what I’ve seen it’s Bentley, but Cash has a good work rate and can punch.
Six days later on Friday April 30, two of Williams friends Troy Williamson and Kieran Smith face each other in a final eliminator for the British Super-Welterweight title, another of Liam’s former belts.
“As much of a good fight that it is I didn’t really want to see it because I like both men,” Williams says.
“I wouldn’t like to see either of them lose, but it is boxing and we’re all in it for the same prize. If somebody else is in your path you have to dispose of them.
“I honestly don’t know who will win. It’s a very good fight. I think it’s 50-50.
“Kieran is slightly technically better, Williamson is technically good as well, but brings more pressure. I wouldn’t have a bet and it could be a draw.”
Liam Williams predicting KO of oddball Demetrius Andrade
Liam Williams says he has the power and the heart to knock out WBO World Middleweight king Demetrius Andrade at Hard Rock Live at Hard Rock Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Fl. on Saturday, April 17, live worldwide on DAZN and in association with Queensberry Promotions.
Williams (23-2-1 18 KOs) has settled in Florida, having completed his training camp at the famous Ingle Gym in Sheffield. The 28-year-old is counting down the days to his long-awaited first full World title fight against the unbeaten Andrade (29-0 18 KOs).
Williams and Andrade have traded barbs on social media and the Welshman, who could become his country’s 13th World champion with victory, thinks the tools in his bag will be enough to take the crown from the unbeaten champion.
“I don’t think he has the same intensity as me,’ said Williams. “I wear my heart on my sleeve. I can punch harder than him. I have a better engine than him. I’m going to bring it all on the night, and I don’t think he has the answers.
“He’s a clown. I don’t think he’s wired upright; he’s got a screw loose. His mannerisms, the way he acts and talks in his interviews, he’s just a little bit strange, and I can’t put my finger on it. He’s an oddball.
“It’s a risky fight for both of us. He’s the champion, and I’m the number one contender. If he loses, the belt goes, and that’s his status gone, but the same for me, I’m back to the bottom of the pile, there’s a lot at stake, and neither of us will take a backward step, and that’s what will make it a great fight.
“The outcome is me winning; whether that’s over the distance or inside the distance, it doesn’t matter to me. As long as I take that belt back to Britain, I do not doubt it, I’m super confident, and I don’t think there’s any way he beats me. I think I can knock him out.
“I’ve had setbacks, I’ve had injuries, I’ve been told to retire, so getting my opportunity is a real achievement, but in saying that, this is the beginning of things for me with more massive step-ups, and I’m not willing to stop here.”
Williams’ clash with Andrade is part of a stacked night of action in Florida as Carlos Gongora (19-0 14 KOs) defends his IBO World Super-Middleweight title against Christopher Pearson (17-2 12 KOs).
