WELSH star Liam Williams is on the verge of something big, but that means he can’t look past Andrew Robinson when they meet inside the BT Sport Studios this weekend.
Robinson is 36 and has a 24-4-1 (7) record. He presents an unusual style but Williams must win if he’s to keep his world title aspirations alive, including his mandatory shot at WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade.
“I think he’s basic, he’s very awkward, he’s unorthodox which sounds weird to say but that’s probably his best asset and you don’t know what he’s going to do next,” Williams said of his opponent.
“He’s quite big, he’s taller than me, he looks solid but as I’ve shown in my last couple of fights that doesn’t really matter. When I hit them on the button they can be as solid as they want, they’re going to go. The Andrade fight is very close, I’m mandatory challenger so that fight has got to happen next. I did give him the go head to fight beforehand in a non-title fight because I’m fighting but our next big fight has to be against each other. At the moment, I don’t really want to know what’s going on [with negotiations] because I’ve got a job to do and I don’t want to get carried away thinking of someone else, I need to get my full focus on beating Robinson first.”
Williams hasn’t fought in 10 months but is on an impressive run of performances with stoppages over Mark Heffron, Joe Mullender, Karim Achour and Alantez Fox
Robinson has won his last three since a sixth-round stoppage defeat to Heffron but Williams says he is just ready to go. There aren’t many fighters he’s not called out during lockdown and he said he’d even go to junior-middleweight or super-middleweight for the right fights. For now, Robinson comes first and Williams is immersed in the BT bubble.
“It’s the best part because you can see the finish line, you’re weighing in and then fighting,” he said. “But on the other hand, it’s the worst part because it’s a waiting game and you’re hanging around doing nothing. It doesn’t bother me that I’m fighting behind closed doors because for me it’s a fight and that’s all that matters. It’s another outing under the lights and the real thing.”
Williams is also ranked No. 3 by the WBC, but he is aware that his current knockout streak might be making him more difficult to match.
“Realistically, I’m better off looking sh-te and just scraping through, it would probably do me the world of good,” he added. “It’s one of them [a no win situation], I can’t try and look bad to try and entice people to fight me, I’ve got to go out and do a job and if they don’t want to fight me I will force myself into a position where they have to.”
He’d like to be in the mix with Chris Eubank Jr, having huge nights against the likes of Gennady Golovkin and Saul Alvarez, but first things first. He says Robinson won’t be overlooked.
“Absolutely not,” he insisted. “I’m fully focused on Robinson. I don’t think he’s a mug by any stretch. It’s going to be his world title fight, his big opportunity so he’s going to bring everything. He’s got nothing to lose and he’s going to give it his all. If he’s going to go down, he’s going to go down swinging.”
Then, perhaps Liam will allow his mind to wonder towards the champions and the bigger nights.
“That’s the short-term goal and the goal for the next year or so but I just want the biggest fights that can possibly be made and whatever I can get I will take because I just want to be in good fights,” he said.
Despite Covid-19 striking the globe while he was in the form of his career, he claims that momentum hasn’t been lost and that he’s still made improvements.
He’s been working with trainer Dominic Ingle in Sheffield throughout the year long before a date was set for his return to action.
“Definitely,” he agreed, when asked whether he was still getting better despite his period away from competitive action. “I’m getting more mature all the time. I’m 28, I still feel like I’m growing up, I’m maturing, I’m looking at things in different ways and assessing situations better and there are so many things. I’ve still been doing loads of sparring and loads of pads with Dom and I’ve been doing weights and strength training so I’ve got a good momentum and I’m still building.”
But first things first. If Williams is to keep knocking on the championship door he can’t afford to slip up behind closed doors.
