It’s not if Julian Williams will fight Jeison Rosario again, it’s when.
Williams recently decided not to exercise his contractual right to an immediate rematch with Rosario, the Dominican contender who stopped him in five rounds in a significant upset on Jan. 18. However, Stephen Edwards, the trainer of Williams, says they have every intention of fighting Rosario again. Just not next. They need time to heal and regroup.
“Julian just had surgery [to repair damaged skin around] both of his eyes last week,” Edwards told BoxingScene.com. “He can’t even spar until May or June. We wouldn’t be ready for a rematch in a reasonable period of time.”
In the fight, Rosario (20-1-1, 14 KOs) opened up a large gash over Williams’ left eye, which immediately changed the tenor of the fight.
“It’s counterproductive to rush into a rematch without getting his eye fixed and his eye was a big reason he lost in the first place,” Edward said. “But Team Rosario has expressed to me personally that they are honorable and will give us the rematch very soon. Just not next because we won’t be ready.”
Sampson Lewkowicz, the promoter of Rosario, told Boxing Junkie that Rosario “100%” plans to give Williams a rematch whenever he is ready.
Edwards believes Williams (27-2-1, 16 KOs) should be ready for a tune-up fight by late summer.
“He should be ready to go by August or September,” he said.
Edwards does not know who the opponent will be yet. In the meantime, the trainers says Williams won’t be peddling any excuses.
“What I’ve learned is it’s no use talking about what went wrong publicly,” Edwards said. “It always sounds like an excuse and, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. The result is what matters.
“Julian just has to redeem himself. Jeison Rosario fought a great fight, and he got the win.”
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