Demetrius Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs) looks likely to end almost a year of inactivity against a British opponent in early 2021 — however it probably won't be the man he has been calling out on-and-off for over two years, Billy Joe Saunders.
Welsh fighter Liam Williams (23-2-1, 18 KOs), who is the current mandatory challenger to Andrade's WBO middleweight championship, has claimed that a deal for his title opportunity is almost finalised.
Williams last fought on Oct. 10, when he required just one minute and 28 seconds to take out Andrew Robinson at BT Sport Studios in London. He then relinquished the British middleweight belt he defended in that swift victory in order to devote his full attention to preparing for his world title challenge in the new year.
And while Saunders, who retained his WBO super-middleweight title against British veteran Martin Murray on Friday, appears to be Andrade's preferred next opponent, he must either grant Williams his shot or vacate the middleweight crown he has held since October 2018.
“It’s looking like 2021 could be something special for me and my family," Williams told British Boxing News. “I’m looking forward to fighting Andrade, beating him and then becoming a father once again.
“I am told that the Andrade fight is pretty much done and it’s just a case of finding out where and when it will be. I am confident it will be Andrade that I face, but it doesn’t matter to me either way because I will be challenging for the WBO title in my next fight.
“I already asked if he is going to box, but I will leave that to him. I’ll be happy if he does, but there will be no forcing him into anything if he wants to take another path.
“Things change all the time in boxing though. I don’t even mind going to fight Andrade in his hometown Providence. I want to take Andrade’s belt from him, but even if it’s for a vacant title there will be massive fights down the line.”
If Andrade does indeed vacate, Saunders could be the immediate target after all. The two have had one previous signed fight fall through, while talks to revisit the match-up later went nowhere.
Meanwhile, Williams would fight another ranked challenger for the belt Andrade would vacate in pursuit of Saunders, in what would be his first real sniff of the big gold since losing a pair of fights to Liam Smith — the only defeats of his pro career so far — with the WBO's interim light-middleweight belt at stake in the first of the two.
Williams's record since moving up to middleweight after the Smith bouts has been spotless, and the 28-year-old hopes to be a world champion when he welcomes a new member into the family in the spring.
“We only found out on Saturday that my partner will give birth to a baby boy that is due on May 21st," continued Williams. "I am over the moon.
“I worship my little girl and my children will get equal love, but a little boy is all I have ever wanted.
“It is a first child for Carys so the sex doesn’t matter to her, but I have a girl and I’m just excited that she is having a boy.
“I go home on a Friday afternoon and return to Sheffield every Sunday afternoon ready for Monday training,
“I come home to see Myla and spend as much time as a I can with Carys during her pregnancy."