Andrade drops, dominates Williams but shows vulnerability in retaining 160 title

He and promoter Eddie Hearn call for unification fight

Middleweight world titlist Demetrius Andrade perhaps wasn’t as sharp as he typically is but he still dominated mandatory challenger Liam Williams.

Andrade got touched a bit more than usual, but he dropped Williams in the second round, blasted him with right uppercuts throughout the fight and won a lopsided unanimous decision on Saturday on DAZN before a limited number of spectators at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Andrade, who retained the WBO 160-pound world title for the fourth time and then called out for a unification fight, won 118-109, 118-109 and 116-111. Fight Freaks Unite also had Andrade winning 118-109.

It was a far more crowd-pleasing fight than Andrade, a master on defense, usually is in, but Williams forced him to fight with his intense pressure.

“Hell of a fighter, tough, strong,” Andrade said of Williams. “He comes to fight and that’s the type of fight people want to see me in. That’s what we did. I showed out. I performed the way I needed to to get the W. My hat goes off to him.”

Next, he wants to unify belts.

“At the end of the day, I’m a champion. I’m undefeated,” Andrade said. “I shouldn’t have to inspire anyone to get in the ring for a belt, an undefeated record and a whole lot of money on the table. I am willing to do it. I am willing to risk it all. I want to show that I’m the best.”

As Andrade (30-0, 18 KOs), 33, a southpaw from Providence, Rhode Island, has done in other defenses, it looked like he might make it a quick fight when he rocked Williams with an overhand left in the first round and landed some nasty uppercuts and continued to absolutely tee off on him in the second round.

Andrade, who is a former junior middleweight titlist, was hitting Williams with every shot possible — uppercuts, right hands, jabs, you name it. Late in the second round, Andrade connected with a quick right jab and immediately followed with a flush straight left hand that dropped Williams. He barely beat the count and was fortunate the round ended.

“I know I’m tough, everyone else knows I’m tough,” Williams said. “When I went down I just thought I’ve been down taking a clean shot, I’ve taken the best shot he’s got and he didn’t keep me down, so I don’t have anything to fear.”

Andrade, who was coming off a coronavirus pandemic-induced 15-month layoff, said he was not surprised Williams survived the knockdown despite being badly hurt.

“I already knew he was tough,” Andrade said. “Him getting back up, wanting some more work showed me that. He was tough. I wasn’t fighting anyone who was going to lay down if they get put down or get hit with hard shots. I got hit with some hard shots too. But at the end of the day we both showed we are tough fighters.

“That’s what you get — a dog fight, two people who will take shots and give shots. That’s what people want to see so we did it.”

Throughout the fight Andrade found a home for the uppercut. Williams took so many of them, but was able to remain on his feet after the second round despite being clearly hurt time and again.

Williams (23-3-1, 18 KOs), 28, of Wales, an aggressive fighter with little technique, tried to make it a rumble by charging at Andrade and making it ugly. He had a few moments of success in the middle of the fight, landing a some solid shots and marking up Andrade’s face, but it was nowhere near enough to blunt Andrade’s diverse arsenal.

By the fifth round, Williams was cut over the right eye as Andrade continued to tear into him with uppercuts he simply could not evade. As Andrade continued to do as he pleased in the seventh round, Williams tried to hold onto him to keep from going down near the end of the round.

The uppercuts kept coming, but Andrade also mixed in other punches. In the 12th round, he hammered Williams with a left hand and closed out a dominating performance that even Williams could not argue with as his seven-fight winning streak came to an end.

“He’s a very good fighter,” said Williams, who even before the fight was signed trash talked Andrade relentlessly on social media and in interviews. “He’s better than I thought to be honest. He’s more slippery than he looks on TV. I couldn’t get going and land my combinations and get my shots off. I hurt him a couple of times I feel but I couldn’t capitalize on it.

“I didn’t take too much of a step back. I believe I will stay at world level. He’s probably the best of the (middleweight) champions. I have to give him credit. I have to give him respect.”

With Williams dispatched, once again Andrade and Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn will attempt to lure top a opponent into the ring to challenge him.

Andrade is willing to go up to super middleweight for the right fight — unified champion Canelo Alvarez, of course, — but he would like to unify at middleweight, which means fighting any of the other three titleholders: Gennadiy Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs), who is also with DAZN, Jermall Charlo (31-0, 22 KOs) or Ryota Murata (16-2, 13 KOs).

Andrade would most like to face Charlo, although his next defense was announced on Friday. It will come against obscure journeyman Juan Macias Montiel on June 19 on Showtime.

“Let’s get it on,” Andrade said, directing his comment to Charlo.

‘Why are the champions not looking to fight Demetrius Andrade? He was hurt tonight. He was tired tonight. He can’t make 160 forever.’ — promoter Eddie Hearn

Hearn has said that of all the fighters he has promoted, nobody has been more difficult to get a big fight for than Andrade. He tried again to make the case for the other titleholders to face Andrade, going so far to accentuate the vulnerability Andrade showed against Williams.

“If you’re a champion watching that fight, firstly, as Demetrius said, he’s done his job,” Hearn said. “It’s not his responsibility to convince the champions to fight him. Champions are supposed to fight champions. You got guys out there like Jermall Charlo. His brother (unified junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo) is out there doing a great job, fighting champions. Jermall is fighting a guy — I can’t even remember his name — Juan Montiel. I don’t know what he’s doing.”

Hearn said it makes more sense for Charlo to face Andrade in a much bigger fight.

“He’s got an opportunity. If he doesn’t want to fight on DAZN — we’ve made him a massive offer — Demetrius will go and fight on Fox (or Showtime). It’s not a problem. Jermall Charlo against Demetrius Andrade is a big, big fight. It’s two great American champions. Why are the champions not looking to fight Demetrius Andrade? He was hurt tonight. He was tired tonight. He can’t make 160 forever. If I’m Gennadiy Golovkin or Jermall Charlo I’m looking at him and I’m going, ‘I can beat him.’ So why not step up?”

Hearn said Murata and Golovkin, who he is also involved with in promoting, have also shown no interest.

“Gennadiy Golovkin is a great champion, (but) you know he’s planning a fight with Murata on Dec. 31,” Hearn said. “We’re in April! Gennadiy Golovkin should be saying to DAZN, ‘I’ll fight Demetrius Andrade in the summer and then I’ll fight Murata in Japan, two massive unification fights.’ Champions have to fight champions. Demetrius can’t just keep defending his belt. If you’re Charlo or you’re Golovkin let’s do it. Let’s make unification fights. That’s what boxing is about.”

Photo: Michelle Farsi/Matchroom Boxing