Liam Williams vs Atlantez Fox: Welshman wallops American to secure Andrade shot

Liam Williams came flying out of the blocks in his WBO middleweight title eliminator with Atlantez Fox at the Copper Box Arena in London, sustaining a cut left eyelid in round one but dominating the much taller Maryland man with aggression fast hands and feet. The next two were closer but Fox got his own gash, on the nose, and seemed reluctant to engage.

The American’s only defeat was to current WBO king Demetrius Andrade who lay in wait for the winner and Fox had taken his countryman the 12-round distance.

Clydach Vale’s Williams came forward intelligently, landing with both hands to head and body.

After four sessions, it was pretty one-sided and Troy Fox, Atlantez’s father and trainer, warned his so he would stop the fight if the pattern of the contest continued in the fifth. Fox did not help his cause by losing a point for persistent holding in that round.

Williams made the breakthrough with a right-left-right-left and the referee stepped in as Fox slumped down against the ropes. It looked an eminently sensible stoppage in the chief support on Frank Warren’s Fight Before Christmas show.

Croydon’s flashy Sunny Edwards widely outscored Marcel Braithwaite of Liverpool for the vacant British super-flyweight title, but that fails to tell the whole story. It was competitive early and Edwards was dropped by a sweet right-left hook combination in round seven. Add a bad cut suffered shortly after, from a headclash, and unbeaten Edwards had to battle through adversity to triumph.

Braithwaite did not pressure enough and failed to capitalise on the knockdown, while Sunny showed fast reactions, excellent movement and composure. He triumphed 118-109 and 117-110 (twice) to capture the Lonsdale Belt.