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Liam Williams was held back by a security guard Friday after attempting to touch Demetrius Andrade’s dreadlocks.
There won’t be anyone, according to Williams, who will keep him off of Andrade during their 12-round middleweight title fight Saturday in Hollywood, Florida. The confident underdog is certain he’ll knock off the favored Andrade, who will make the fourth defense of the WBO 160-pound championship he won in October 2018.
Andrade, 33, and Williams, 28, made weight Friday for the main event of a seven-bout card DAZN will stream from Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
Andrade got on the Florida State Boxing Commission’s scale at 159½ pounds. Williams weighed in at exactly 160 pounds.
Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs), of Providence, Rhode Island, will end a 14-month layoff in his fight with Williams. The 2008 U.S. Olympian stopped Ireland’s Luke Keeler (17-3-1, 5 KOs) in the ninth round of his most recent bout, which took place in January 2020 at Meridian at Island Gardens in Miami.
The left-handed Andrade will satisfy his mandatory obligation with the WBO by boxing the second-ranked Williams. The WBO went to Williams once Mexico’s Jaime Munguia (36-0, 29 KOs), the WBO’s number one contender, turned down a shot at Andrade’s title.
The 28-year-old Williams (23-2-1, 18 KOs) has won seven consecutive bouts entering his title fight against Andrade. The Clydach Vale, Wales, native has won each of those bouts by knockout or technical knockout since losing a majority decision to England’s Liam Smith (29-2-1, 16 KOs) in their 12-round rematch in November 2017 in Newcastle, England.
The weights for the six fights on the Andrade-Williams undercard are listed below. DAZN’s undercard coverage is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET.
Carlos Gongora (19-0, 14 KOs), Esmeraldas, Ecuador, 167¾ pounds vs. Christopher Pearson (17-2, 12 KOs), Selma, Texas, 167½ pounds, 12 rounds for Gongora’s IBO super middleweight title.
Mahammadrasul Majidov (3-0, 3 KOs), Baku, Azerbaijan, 232 pounds vs. Andrey Fedosov (31-3, 25 KOs), Shuya, Russia, 224½ pounds, 12 rounds, heavyweights.
Movladdin Biyarslanov (7-0, 6 KOs), Makhachkala, Russia, 136½ pounds vs. Israel Mercado (9-0, 7 KOs), Pomona, California, 136¾ pounds, 8 rounds, junior welterweights.
Alexis Espino (7-0, 5 KOs), Las Vegas, 166¼ pounds vs. Ty McLeod (6-0, 6 KOs), Bradenton, Florida, 164½ pounds, 6 rounds, super middleweights.
Otha Jones III (5-0-1, 2 KOs), Toledo, Ohio, 134½ pounds vs. Jorge Castaneda (13-1, 11 KOs), Laredo, Texas, 135 pounds, 8 rounds, lightweights.
Aaron Aponte (2-0, 1 KO), Hialeah, Florida, 140 pounds vs. Javier Martinez (4-7, 3 KOs), Austin, Texas, 138¼ pounds, 4 rounds, junior welterweights.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.