Liam Williams vs. Andrew Robinson - 10 October 2020

[Ruthless-RKO]

Press Release

FRANK W will serve up a treble of top title action on October 10, live on BT Sport, featuring soon-to-be world middleweight title challenger Liam Williams, British welterweight champion Anthony Cacace and Commonwealth super welterweight ruler JJ Metcalf.

The destructive Williams - who is on a four-fight KO run at 160lbs - will defend his British title against his mandatory challenger Andrew Robinson (24-4-1) from Redditch. The 28-year-old, who is in mandatory position himself for the WBO world middleweight title held by Demetrius Andrade, will be seeking to maintain his reign of terror over the division while awaiting the purse bid process for his shot at the big prize.

Williams (22-2-1) won his title by defeating Mark Heffron in December 2018 and has defended once against Joe Mullender, while also picking up the WBC Silver title and WBO Intercontinental title with brutal stoppages of Karim Achour and Alantez Fox respectively.

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Also on the card, Cacace (18-1) will defend his Lonsdale belt against Lyon Woodstock (12-2) in what is sure to be an all-action encounter. The Belfast man Cacace won the title last year by overcoming the then champion Sam Bowen in Birmingham, while former WBO European champion Woodstock from Leicester last saw action against Zelfa Barrett in 2019 when he was defeated on points in a Commonwealth title challenge.

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JJ Metcalf (21-0) will defend his Commonwealth crown against former English champion Jack Flatley (16-1-1). The Liverpool man - also known as Kid Shamrock and firmly in the frame for British title honours - won his belt in June of last year by stopping former world title challenger Jason Welborn with a crippling left to the body in round eight.

Flatley, the 'Quiet Storm' from Bolton, became English champion by defeating Craig Morris in May 2019 before dropping his title on points to Harry Scarff in the September. The 25-year-old returned to winning ways by defeating Alastair Warren in December.
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The title action is supplemented by three of the most exciting prospects in British boxing.

Thrilling bantamweight Dennis McCann will have his eighth professional fight after making a big statement last time out by stopping Brett Fidoe in the second round - only the second to halt Fidoe in 80 fights.

The Southampton snapper Ryan 'The Piranha' Garner (9-0) returns to business at super featherweight with a match against Birmingham's experienced Sean Davies (14-14). He will be joined on the card by his teammate on the South Coast, Mark Chamberlain (6-0), who takes a step-up fight against Shaun Cooper (10-1) from Willenhall.

The 19-year-old welterweight Micky Burke jr completes the card with ‘The Gent’ taking part in his fourth professional fight.

Even though he has got bigger fish to fry in the pipeline, Williams insists he will approach his domestic defence against Robinson with his customary bludgeoning intent and went as far as to issue a health warning.

"I am obviously very, very confident and I know I will make a good job of him because I am training hard and I will turn up like I do for every other fight having left no stone unturned," said the Welshman.

"I don't think he is on my level but I am definitely not taking him lightly and I will approach the fight the way I do the others and that is with bad intentions.

"He is my mandatory and I think it is a dangerous fight because I think he could possibly get hurt. The referee and his team need to be careful and need to be looking after his health and interests because I genuinely think I could damage him.

"I am not sitting about waiting for the purse bids and when they said I could get out it was fantastic news for me. I was delighted and I just can't wait to fight. I hoped to fight even earlier but now I am headlining and it is worth waiting another two weeks to have that top spot.

"I wanted to stay busy and they have given me what I asked for. Now it is up to me to produce the goods again."

Hall of Fame promoter Frank W added: "This is another top show involving the top fighters we are delivering to the fans on BT Sport again.

"Liam Williams has blazed a trail through the middleweight division in a blistering fashion that has captured the imagination of the public. He is a big player now who is on the cusp of a world title shot that will be right in play once travel and crowd restrictions have been eased.

"He is still the British champion and Andrew Robinson is his mandatory challenger, so Liam has got genuine business to attend to on the night and I know it is a job he will be taking seriously.

"Anthony Cacace and Lyon Woodstock should be a real barnstormer and the winner of this one will be an excellent position to secure more big fights in what is a thriving super featherweight division. I am also looking forward to seeing JJ Metcalf back in action against Jack Flatley. JJ has been absent through injury and if he comes through this and retains his Commonwealth title there are massive fights in front of him on the domestic super welterweight front.

"I am also delighted to showcase three of the most captivating talents in the game in Dennis McCann, Mark Chamberlain and Ryan Garner on the same card. I am convinced in a few years’ time that these three will be competing for headline status on the big shows with major titles at stake."

[Ruthless-RKO]

I hope Robinson is better than Williams last opponent.

Mullender nearly got killed that fight.

[Glass Joe]

Crap match making, this is poor preparation. Williams should be fighting high levels fighter to prepare him for Demetrius Andrade or he's going to get beaten up at world level.

[forcefraser]

Watch for Robinson to cause no upset whatsoever here

[margaret thatcher]

Watch for Robinson to cause no upset whatsoever here

Agree, Robinson won't cause an upset, he'll just get the sh!t battered out of him

[Webbo911]

Crap match making, this is poor preparation. Williams should be fighting high levels fighter to prepare him for Demetrius Andrade or he's going to get beaten up at world level.

Agreed, if he's taking a stay busy fight then it should be at a higher level.

Does the opponent have to be UK based? Who else could they have got?

[Glass Joe]

Crap match making, this is poor preparation. Williams should be fighting high levels fighter to prepare him for Demetrius Andrade or he's going to get beaten up at world level.

Agreed, if he's taking a stay busy fight then it should be at a higher level.

Does the opponent have to be UK based? Who else could they have got?

I would be happy with

Gary O'Sullivan
Gabriel Rosado

[Webbo911]

Crap match making, this is poor preparation. Williams should be fighting high levels fighter to prepare him for Demetrius Andrade or he's going to get beaten up at world level.

Agreed, if he's taking a stay busy fight then it should be at a higher level.

Does the opponent have to be UK based? Who else could they have got?

I would be happy with

Gary O'Sullivan
Gabriel Rosado

Good shouts. How is Robinson the Mandatory anyway, over someone like Felix Cash?

I know he upset a Polish lad abroad but still, no eliminator?

[Pugilist-specialist]

FW claimed the fight was offered to Cash but Hearn turned it down.

[THEBUTCH]

Robinson is tough, fit and gained more experience since the Buglioni loss. He should be a fair bit better than Mullender, but a motivated Williams is a class above.

[fizzjambo]

Aye agree with that, I think Robinson will make this a decent watch. He’s certainly a level of two above Mullender.

Williams is fairly seasoned now and Andrade has hardly been defending his title at a high level. Suleki is a decent operator but him aside his last four defences are no better than what Williams has faced. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Williams turned him over in what will likely be a well matched fight

[margaret thatcher]

Andrade looks skillful for sure (120-107 over Sulecki is defo a nice result ) and I would take him over Willy, but for the most part the opposition has been pretty shocking. It's not even those last few, it goes back many many fights now. Had a pretty empty career tbh considering he looks easily capable of more

[3132DW]

FW claimed the fight was offered to Cash but Hearn turned it down.

They did but it wasn’t anywhere near enough money even in these times.

[3132DW]

Crap match making, this is poor preparation. Williams should be fighting high levels fighter to prepare him for Demetrius Andrade or he's going to get beaten up at world level.

Agreed, if he's taking a stay busy fight then it should be at a higher level.

Does the opponent have to be UK based? Who else could they have got?

I would be happy with

Gary O'Sullivan
Gabriel Rosado

Both of those would be much more than FW is willing to pay - money isn’t there.

[THEBUTCH]

That's a shame because Williams needs those sort of fights to help transition him into world class.

I don't have a too much of a problem with the Robinson fight TBH. Robinson is a valid British title contender, but it's the internationally recognised fringe contenders that are missing from Williams' ledger that bothers me when Queensbury inevitably do the "drop and pop" with Williams for a world title.

If it's against a real-deal champion, Liam's going to be under prepared. Something of a theme with Queensbury boxers.

[mickey1975]

That's a shame because Williams needs those sort of fights to help transition him into world class.

I don't have a too much of a problem with the Robinson fight TBH. Robinson is a valid British title contender, but it's the internationally recognised fringe contenders that are missing from Williams' ledger that bothers me when Queensbury inevitably do the "drop and pop" with Williams for a world title.

If it's against a real-deal champion, Liam's going to be under prepared. Something of a theme with Queensbury boxers.

All English fighters, McDonnell, Yafai, Welborn, etc, thrown to wolves.

[maley1984]

I can't see how cash was offered the fight when Robinson has been mandatory and the fight has been called 3 times with date to be advised. I didnt think this fight would happen as Williams was on the verge of world title fight. As for the fight I expect Williams to win wide points maybe even a late stoppage. Got luck to Robinson his a sound lad.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Liam Williams Could Be Forced Out Of Andrew Robinson Clash Due To WBO Mandatory

Liam Williams could be forced to pull out of his next fight.

Warren has warned that former WBO interim world title challenger Williams (22-2-1, 17 KOs) –– whose last fight came last December against Alantez Fox at the Copper Box Arena in London –– may have to withdraw from the fight, depending on the WBO’s rules surrounding his mandatory position.

“He’s reinvented himself and looked devastating since moving up in weight,” Warren told iFL TV when talking about the future of the Dominic Ingle-trained fighter. “He’s been with me since day one and we’ve delivered again for him.”

Robinson, from the Midlands, was last in action 12 months ago at Walsall Town Hall when he stopped Eric Nwankwo. He is a former WBO European super-middleweight title challenger and has been stopped by Mark Heffron –– a man who himself was stopped by Williams –– when the pair clashed for the vacant WBC International title at middleweight back in June 2018.

“The fight is on,” Warren added, “but it may be subject to the WBO stating that [Williams] has to withdraw from the fight because of the regulations of the purse bids [for the world title challenge against Andrade].

“We’re working on that at the moment, but if he has to withdraw then he’ll do that because there is no way I can let him loose his position against Andrade.

“He wants the fight, he’s been out a long time, and we want to make sure it happens, but that’s all down to the WBO and where we are with them and Andrade.”

James Metcalf will face Jack Flatley in a defence of his Commonwealth super-welterweight title, while there is a rescheduled British title defence for super-featherweight talent Anthony Cacace as he takes on former WBO European super-featherweight titlist Lyon Woodstock.

[magnus]

[/quote]
All English fighters, McDonnell, Yafai, Welborn, etc, thrown to wolves.
[/quote]

Obviously I don't include Welborn in this statement, but putting fighters who hold "world" titles and who are widely regarding as being amongst the better fighters in their divisions in against top quality opposition is hardly "throwing them to the wolves".

British boxers with aspirations to be the best should try and prove it, if they lose then so be it.

[mickey1975]

All English fighters, McDonnell, Yafai, Welborn, etc, thrown to wolves.
[/quote]

Obviously I don't include Welborn in this statement, but putting fighters who hold "world" titles and who are widely regarding as being amongst the better fighters in their divisions in against top quality opposition is hardly "throwing them to the wolves".

British boxers with aspirations to be the best should try and prove it, if they lose then so be it.
[/quote]
I thought he was sacrificing his English brand to build his US brand and it backfired. Hopefully Luke Campbell bucks the trend.

[Pugilist-specialist]

FW claimed the fight was offered to Cash but Hearn turned it down.

They did but it wasn’t anywhere near enough money even in these times.

What was the offer?

[3132DW]

FW claimed the fight was offered to Cash but Hearn turned it down.

They did but it wasn’t anywhere near enough money even in these times.

What was the offer?

That’s with Sims/Cash to say - but they were not interested in short turnaround for that money when they have chance to get European belt next.

Other way Chris Jenkins is happy with purse to fight Conor Benn but FW won’t let him fight - now the purses won’t be called until Oct time.

That’s the thing there’s no chance of FW working with Matchroom - all publicity making out they want specific fights.

[mickey1975]

They did but it wasn’t anywhere near enough money even in these times.

What was the offer?

That’s with Sims/Cash to say - but they were not interested in short turnaround for that money when they have chance to get European belt next.

Other way Chris Jenkins is happy with purse to fight Conor Benn but FW won’t let him fight - now the purses won’t be called until Oct time.

That’s the thing there’s no chance of FW working with Matchroom - all publicity making out they want specific fights.

FW said he wants it but Matchroom directly approached the fighter and trainer.

[brilo33]

got to be another earlry ko for liam , though he might want a couple of rds , warm up fight no disrescpect

[Ruthless-RKO]

Press Release

DENNIS MCCANN will box his first ever eight rounder next month when he steps up in class and faces Pedro Matos.

The brilliant bantamweight prospect will tackle his Portuguese rival on allegedly’s triple title bill at BT Sport studio on Saturday October 10.

Unbeaten McCann, made it seven wins out of seven as a professional last month when he became only the second man to stop 82-fight veteran Brett Fidoe.

And the Maidstone traveller is more than confident that his eighth professional win will follow in his second fight behind closed doors.

It will be the third consecutive fight in Britain for Matos who performed well against Sunny Edwards and Quaise Khademi in title contests.

McCann, 19, who was boosted by a recent Facetime call from Naseem Hamed, the man many compare him with, has stopped five of his professional opponents and is confident of adding Matos to the list.

‘Dennis The Menace’ said: “This year has been very big one for me and I will do the exact same thing against better opposition as what I’ve been doing to most opponents.

“I will be putting them to sleep, never mind just stopping them. I believe Matos will be going that way.

“You either have it or you don’t although you have to live the life and be dedicated. The best like Canelo Alvarez, Terence Crawford and Vasyl Lomachenko were born with that talent.

“The elite fighters are born with it and I was also 100 per-cent, for sure.”

Matos (7-3, 1 KO) was stopped on his feet in round eight when he challenged Edwards for the WBO European Super-Flyweight championship at Wembley Arena in April 2019.

The Lisbon man returned to London last December when he met Khademi for the same belt, but lost a close unanimous decision although he believed he did enough to win at the final bell.

Hall of Fame promoter Warren said: “The L plates are starting to be torn away from Dennis and he is moving on to the next stage of his career.

“Matos will fight with ambition and for a teenager to be taking a solid European opponent says a lot about the belief we have in Dennis.

“There are a lot of great young boxers around the world with the same aspirations as Dennis, but I can’t think of many prospects who have had less than ten fights as good as him.”

Heading the show is Welsh ace Liam Williams who defends his British Middleweight crown against mandatory challenger Andrew Robinson.

Belfast’s Anthony Cacace makes the first defence of his British Super-Featherweight championship against Leicester’s Leon Woodstock.

Nathan Gorman returns to action in a Commonwealth Title Eliminator against Ghana’s Richard Lartey.

Liverpool’s James Metcalf is back in action and risks his Commonwealth Super-Welterweight title against Bolton’s Jack Flatley.

Elsewhere, Mark Chamberlain looks to keep his unbeaten record and Bexley Welterweight Micky Burke bids for his fourth win since turning professional last year.