:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68932907/1207535092.0.jpg)
Saturday’s eagerly anticipated DAZN event has received some last-minute adjustments. With previous foe Aaron Coley out of commission, Middleweight prospect Austin “Ammo” Williams will instead face longtime veteran Denis Douglin, while unbeaten French super welterweight Souleymane Cissokho will join the undercard against Daniel Echeverria.
Mike Coppinger first broke the WIlliams-Douglin news on Saturday.
Williams (7-0, 6 KO), last seen demolishing Isiah Jones in under 90 seconds, still has his sights on a clash with Anthony Fowler. He’ll have to get by a very well-traveled foe in Douglin (22-7, 14 KO); “Momma’s Boy” has fought a number of familiar faces from super welterweight to super middleweight and notably upset the undefeated Vaughn Alexander three fights back.
“Douglin is the step-up I need right now, someone that’s had experience at the high level that is going to test me,” said Williams.
“I always tell Eddie Hearn and Matchroom that I want more. I’m not working in the gym for regular guys, I think I have still got to prove myself and come up the ranks like everyone else, but I am showing that I am different.
“This year, I need a title shot, something like a USBA title, to get me ready for a World title in 2022. This is going to be a great development year for me. Anthony Fowler? I will stop him. I wouldn’t say I like Anthony as a person.
“I came into this sport late, but I progressed fast, and I feel like I cannot be stopped right now. I’m in the gym every day, no layoffs, not blowing hot or cold, I come to perform every single time.
“My coach, my team, and my family make all the difference. Everybody tells me I’m the greatest in their eyes no matter what happens, and that enables me to take whatever risks I need to take because I know that they are with me no matter what.
“That’s why I will go around the world and spar anyone, get off a plane and spar a World champion straight away, because I know I am going to be OK whatever happens.”
Cissokho (11-0, 7 KO) hasn’t seen action since September 2019, when he further buried former prospect Dmitry Mikhaylenko’s ambitions with a near-shutout. Echeverria (21-10, 18 KO) has lost nine of 11 against the likes of Carlos Ocampo, Egidijus Kavaliauskas, Shakhram Giyasov, and Gabriel Valenzuela.