Liam Williams has the power and tools to part Demetrius Andrade from his WBO world middleweight title, according to shared foe Alantez Fox.
The Maryland man, known as SlyAsa, was spectacularly knocked off his WBO No.1 ranked perch by the formidable middleweight force of Welshman Williams in December of last year, with ‘The Machine’ pounding the American before forcing a fifth round stoppage.
Fox’s only other reverse came against the current champion back in 2017 when Andrade clocked up a wide points victory over his countryman.
It makes the 6ft 4″ 28-year-old ideally placed to assess the prospect of mandatory challenger Williams taking on Andrade, once he has dealt with the domestic duty of defending his British title against Andrew Robinson, live on BT Sport 1 on Saturday.
“I don’t think Liam was better than I thought. He was everything I expected him to be – aggressive, strong and hitting hard. I just don’t think I was all the way there.
“I believe he is a good fighter though, definitely, I don’t think I would have lost if he wasn’t,” added Fox, who suspects an intriguing clash of styles will come into play when and if the pair meet.
“I believe the comparison between Andrade and Williams is the classic boxer versus kinda sort of brawler. Liam Williams is very aggressive and he comes to fight. He comes to box a bit, but he comes for war and to get in there to fight on the inside, which is what he will try and do against Andrade.
“If Andrade doesn’t box enough, or doesn’t box well, more than likely Liam Williams will take that victory. I want to say Williams hits harder than Andrade and I understand why people would ask the question because he ended up stopping me in the fifth round.
“Liam Williams does hit hard and he does have good punch placement.”
Fox concluded that geography, as well as styles, could be the making of having a new middleweight champion.
“I think some factors play into this fight. If Demetrius Andrade goes over there, it is a big ass difference. If Liam Williams has to fight here (the USA) that is a big difference too and I believe an Andrade win.
“It will be a boxer v brawler type of fight, but Andrade isn’t weak. He will have to be on his P’s and Q’s though against Williams,.
“That isn’t to say Liam Williams doesn’t possess the strength and guile to go in there and upset a lot of people. I am kind of on the fence over this one.”
“I would love to see these two clash and I hope it does happen.”
WATCH LIAM WILLIAMS vs ANDREW ROBINSON, SATURDAY, 7PM, BT SPORT 1
