By: Hans Themistode
Another one bites the dust.
For months on end, Demetrius Andrade sat back and listened as British native and top contender, Liam Williams, shouted nonstop that he would strip Andrade of his WBO middleweight world title. Yet, when given the chance earlier tonight at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood Florida, all of Williams trash talk was rendered useless.
Like most of his contest, Williams pushed forward early. He opened up with a barrage of punches but quickly found himself hitting nothing but air. Andrade refused to engage, instead, he choose to play defense until the time was right. With one minute left in the opening frame, Andrade began letting his hands go. He consistently landed several uppercuts that left Williams holding near the end of the round.
The following frame was much of the same as Andrade continued to avoid the oncoming shots of his man until he found the perfect opportunity. Once again, that came at the end of the round as Andrade sent Williams to the mat with only a few seconds remaining.
To his credit, Williams rose to his feet and survived the round. Clearly behind at this point, Williams began upping his work rate. He found moments of success until Andrade changed the tempo of the fight by landing shots at will.
As the middle rounds approached, Andrade appeared to be in cruise control. His more lethargic demeanor was noticeable to Williams as he landed a huge shot in round seven that left Andrade visibly rattled. The current WBO belt holder backed up against the ropes and clinched onto his man until the end of the bell.
With Andrade in no mood to lose ground on the scoreboards, he got back to his boxing in round eight. He stuck his jab right into the face of Williams, forcing the British native to fight with a high guard. That of course, left his midsection wide open, something Andrade would take full advantage of.
As the championship rounds rolled by, Andrade appeared more than content with boxing and keeping his man away. With the title dreams of Williams slipping away, he attempted to empty the tank in order to land a game-changing shot.
Unfortunately for the British native, it never happened as Andrade made it to the final bell and walked away with his world title still wrapped around his waist.