The popular and highly-rated Demetrius Andrade headlines the Matchroom card in Florida from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, where he puts his WBO middleweight title and unbeaten record on the line against the in-form and hard-hitting Liam Williams.
Time for Andrade to Shine
Southpaw Andrade won the United States Amateur Boxing Championship twice and the coveted National Golden Gloves twice during an exceptional amateur career, which also included representing the USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Since turning professional in 2008, the 33-year-old has long been regarded as one of the most technically-gifted fighters in the world but is lacking any elite-level fights on his cv.
The Rhode Island fighter is very highly-regarded in America, but the rest of the world are yet to see if he can live up to the hype and Liam Williams is a significant step up in class.
‘Boo Boo’ is an unappealing favourite at 20/59, while mandatory challenger Williams is available to back at 41/20.
Williams a Worthy Contender and Value to Succeed
Since his two defeats to Liam Smith in 2017, Williams has been in fine form inside the ring – he has won all seven fights since via knockout or technical knockout.
Williams’ second loss to Smith was on points by majority decision in a bout for the interim version of this belt, but the 28-year-old has very much got his career back on track since.
Now under the watchful eye of talented coach Dominic Ingle, Williams is hitting hard and can cause Andrade big problems with his high punch output and heavy hands. He is good value to win this inside the distance.
Askren Faces Big Paul Problems
Undefeated YouTuber Jake Paul steps through the ropes as a professional boxer for the third time to face former MMA fighter Ben Askren on Saturday night at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Although The Problem Child does not hail from a fighting background, he has adapted well to the professional rankings – albeit against abysmal opposition – and is a strong fancy to emerge victorious.
Despite Askern being a former MMA fighter, his style was more of a wrestler than a striker and Paul is a worthy favourite at 10/17.
Askren is the outsider at 5/4 and is likely to be knocked out.
*All odds correct at time of writing