Liam Williams has vacated the British middleweight championship in order to focus entirely on his status as the mandatory challenger to the WBO middleweight titleholder, Demetrius Andrade.
Williams (23-2-1, 18 KOs), whose last fight came on Oct. 10 in a 1:26 blasting of Andrew Robinson to retain the British title, would have been ordered to defend against the winner of Mark Heffron, the man the Welshman defeated to claim the belt, and Denzel Bentley on Nov. 13.
Now, the 28-year-old Williams can focus on his goal of becoming a world champion after Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs) faces Dusty Harrison over 10 rounds at super-middle on Nov. 27 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, live on DAZN.
That being said, 'The Machine' recently claimed that he would not be surprised if Andrade vacated and moved up to 168 and vacated instead of fighting him.
“Andrade keeps saying he’s the boogeyman but I’m chasing the fight with him and he’s not taking it," he said at the press conference before his win over Robinson.
"He needs to make his mind up. You can’t call yourself the boogeyman if you’re turning down fights with your mandatory challenger.
“As long as I get my chance and fight for the world title I don’t care who I fight, but personally I don’t think he’ll take it, I think he’ll vacate and I think I’ll fight Jaime Munguia. That fight has got blood and guts all over it.”
Meanwhile, Heffron vs. Bentley on Nov. 13 is a rematch after the two contested a thrilling scrap in September that was declared a very rare unanimous draw by all three ringside judges.
The news of Williams' abdication led to the British Boxing Board of Control confirming that the stakes will now be raised in the rematch.
“The British fans wanted it, so we’ve delivered it,” said promoter Frank Warren. “It was the easiest decision in the world to put these two back in the ring together.”
“The response to the first fight was overwhelmingly positive. Fans up and down the country were hailing the fight as the best domestic middleweight scrap in years. With no clear winner, the only thing to do was book an immediate rematch and let these two finally settle the debate once and for all.
“This rematch is such a great fight for British boxing fans, and I couldn’t begin to pick a winner. I reckon the bookies are going to struggle to separate them too - it’s the definition of a 50-50 fight.”
Heffron (25-1-1, 19 KOs) told World Boxing News: “I’m so pleased that this rematch has been arranged and I'm back in the ring so quick. You will see a sharper Mark Heffron this time. I know I won the first fight, but in this second one, I’m planning on leaving no doubt.
"My daughter Poppy wants that title belt for Christmas and I never let her down.”
Bentley (13-0-1, 11 KOs) told WBN: “Being British and fighting for the British title is an honor. I want to conquer home first, then I’ll go on to conquer the world.
“Thanks to Frank for getting the rematch on for us straight away and giving me another chance to show the world why I’m the future of this division.