What appeared to be shaping up as a quick night of work for Demetrius Andrade turned into a hard-fought battle that went the distance.
However, in the end, Andrade proved once again that there are levels to boxing, as he scored a unanimous decision victory over a very game Liam Williams. Judges at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida had it 118-109, 118-109 and 116-111 all in favor of Andrade, who drowned Williams with an abundance of skills to retain the WBO middleweight championship Saturday.
Andrade, who has been yearning to fight the likes of a Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez or Gennadiy Golovkin, hopes that his 30th professional victory helps to inch him closer to securing a marquee fight.
"At the end of the day, I'm the champion. I'm undefeated," Andrade began telling DAZN's Chris Mannix fresh off his win. "I shouldn't have to inspire anyone to get into the ring for a belt, an undefeated record and a whole lot of money on the table, so whenever we could sit down at the table and make something happen, I'm willing to do it. I'm willing to risk it all."
Andrade even channeled late rapper DMX in growling "Let's get it on!" when asked about WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo.
After buckling Williams knees in the first round, "Boo Boo" nearly finished the show in the second when he deposited the mandatory challenger onto the canvas with a right-left combination straight down the middle for a knockdown.
Williams rose off the canvas at the nine count and survived the round, but Andrade kept pouring on the offense by repeatedly splitting the challenger's guard with a left hand, while detonating a vicious right uppercut at will over the course of the fight.
Still, outclassed in skills, Williams wasn't outclassed in guts, as he kept chugging forward and closing the gap, while leaning on the champ. By the middle to late rounds, Andrade was clearly tired and Williams continued to move forward to snag some rounds. However, he couldn't land definitive shots to do much more than that, as judges scored it for Andrade comfortably. DAZN News had it 117-110 for Andrade, who outlanded Williams 193 punches to 110.
When Andrade wasn't picking his shots, he was moving laterally and elusively enough to stifle a game Williams from landing any shots that could cause damage.
Still, perhaps Andrade getting tired in the later rounds was enough for one of the other champions at 160 pounds — like a GGG or Charlo — to pick up on that vulnerability and unify with the Providence, Rhode Island native.
Here's how the Andrade vs. Williams card went.
Demetrius Andrade vs. Liam Williams fight card
- Demetrius Andrade def. Liam Williams by unanimous decision (118-109, 118-109, 116-111) to retain WBO Middleweight title
- Carlos Gongora def. Christopher Pearson via eighth-round KO; Super Middleweight
- Andrey Fedosov def. Mahammadrasul Majidov by first-round KO; Heavyweight
- Arthur Biyarslanov def. Israel Mercado via majority decision (78-74, 77-75, 76-76); Junior Welterweight
- Alexis Espino def. Ty McLeod by unanimous decision (60-54, 59-55, 59-55); Super Middleweight