Junior middleweight titleholder Julian Williams isn’t content to win a major belt or two. He’s thinking bigger – much bigger. He wants to become the No. 1 fighter pound for pound in the world.
“J-Rock” took his biggest step in that direction when he stunned the boxing world by taking then-unbeaten Jarrett Hurd’s title on May 11 of last year. He defends for the first time against Jeison Rosario on Saturday at Liacouras Center in his hometown of Philadelphia on Fox.
And then, assuming things go well, it’s on to bigger challenges required to attain greatness.
“I’m not satisfied with just being the best super welterweight in the world,” he told PremierBoxingChampions.com. “Why sell myself short when I have the drive and the ability to be the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world? . . . I’d be leaving millions of dollars on the table.”
That concept would’ve been unthinkable late in the evening on Dec. 10, 2016, the date then-154-pound titleholder Jermall Charlo put Williams down three times and stopped him in five rounds in his first title shot.
The perception of Williams changed instantaneously, from a complete fighter with a bright future to just another contender with a suspect chin. Williams only became more determined.
The typically tough product of a tough town went back to the gym immediately and fought again six months later, a seventh-round TKO of Joshua Conley that served as the first step back toward the top.
“I think people change like day and night,” he told PBC. “It’s been said boxers are loved conditionally: That they win, they look good and they look dominant. You can’t shortchange anyone in boxing, because you’ll be considered exposed, or not that good, or all those other terms they come up with.
“It’s what have you done for me lately. Nobody cares about the (New England) Patriots now. They’re only the greatest team in (NFL) history but nobody cares because they’re not in the playoffs.”
Williams (27-1-1, 16 KOs) fought his way back into title contention. He easily outpointed durable Ishe Smith in November 2017. He defeated Nathanial Galimore by a majority decision the following April, although most observers thought he won clearly.
And he stopped Francisco Javier Castro in two rounds in December 2018 to earn a shot at Hurd’s junior middleweight title on May 11 of last year in Fairfax, Virginia.
Hurd at that time was seen as a physical phenomenon. The 154-pound champion made weight on the scale but seemed to have the strength of a light heavyweight, which allowed him to swallow up almost all of his opponents. If any champion at that time was unbeatable, it seemed, it was him.
Williams knew better. He knew he was the better boxer, the better all-around fighter. And he proved it.
The challenger outboxed, outworked and outthought the champion – even putting him down once – and was more than durable enough to handle anything Hurd threw at him. The result was a stunning unanimous-decision victory and one the most-impressive performances in recent years.
Williams was elated but not surprised. Neither was his longtime trainer, Stephen “Breadman” Edwards.
“Even though I was confident he was going to win, to accomplish it physically is different,” Edwards told PBC. “It was like a monkey was off our back. It was joy, relief, happiness, and your pride kicks in, the competitive spirit, to shut everybody up. I’ve had very few feelings like that in my life.”
Williams also knows better than to take Rosario (19-1-1, 13 KOs) for granted.
The Miami-based Dominican is unbeaten in eight fights (7-0-1) since Gallimore stopped him in six rounds in 2017. Gallimore was his best opponent, meaning he’s never faced anyone like Williams.
However, Rosario is a solid fighter. And he might’ve learned something by watching Williams defeat Hurd.
“You can never underestimate what a man has been through, how hungry he is, how hard he’s been training,” Williams said. “I know I inspired a lot of people with that performance [against Hurd], and that made people believe they can do the unthinkable.”