'J-Rock' looks to rejuvenate career; Adames vows to devour him

WBC interim middleweight title bout tops Showtime tripleheader Saturday night

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It wasn’t that long ago that Julian “J-Rock” Williams was widely viewed as the No. 1 junior middleweight in the world after going to the home region of unified champion Jarrett Hurd and winning an upset decision to take his two world titles in May 2019.

But then Williams lost his next two fights. First, he suffered a fifth-round upset knockout at home in Philadelphia to Jeison Rosario that cost him the belts in his first defense in January 2020. A long layoff followed and then a much bigger upset split decision loss to journeyman Vladimir Hernandez in October 2021.

After 13 months off, partly due to injuries, Williams returned at middleweight in November for an eight-round decision win over journeyman Rolando Mansilla and now is back in a higher profile fight looking to make another run.

Williams will challenge WBC interim middleweight titlist Carlos Adames in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions tripleheader on Saturday (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET) at The Armory in Minneapolis.

“This fight can definitely rejuvenate my career,” Williams said at Thursday’s fight-week news conference. “I don’t think people fear him yet. He only hit the scene last year. All that about him being avoided is just talk.

“I’m not letting Adames know anything and I don’t have to say anything. We’re gonna show up and settle it in the ring like men on Saturday night.”

Williams (28-3-1, 16 KOs), 33, has preferred not to rehash the losses and layoffs leading up to the fight but he has had plenty to say about Adames, who he views as quite beatable.

“I’ve watched tape on him and he’s not unbeatable. He’s a good fighter, but I’ve seen him down, I’ve seen him tired and I’ve seen him hurt,” Williams said. “He’s no boogeyman.”

Adames took exception to that comment.

“If you’ve seen me hurt, that’s because you have bad eyesight,” Adames said through an interpreter at the news conference. “I’m right here and I’m gonna be at my best on Saturday night.”

Williams has also repeatedly labeled Adames a bully and did it again at the press conference.

“This dude is a bully,” Williams said. “I don’t have to go back and forth with him and argue about what we’re gonna do. I’m gonna show up on Saturday night. Believe it. I’m locked in. I know what this is and I know what he is. It’s gonna show up in the fight. I’m a man and you cannot scare me.

“I’m going to deliver a spectacular performance on Saturday night. The fans can definitely expect that. I’m getting my hand raised.”

Adames (22-1, 17 KOs), 29, of the Dominican Republic, blew away Juan Macias Montiel to win the vacant interim belt in October made available due to the inactivity of titlist  Jermall Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs), whose last fight was a decision win over Macias two years ago.

Adames is supremely confident he will defeat Williams and move on to an even more significant fight.

“Williams is bait on a hook ready to get devoured by the big fish,” Adames said. “He should know that he’s in a bad spot right now. I can feel him shaking. If you’re hesitant, it’s because you don’t know what you’re getting into. I want him to tell us how he really feels. 

“If you like this back and forth, you’ll love the fight. I’m glad this was fun, but I want everyone to know that I’m bringing my best. Julian has no idea what he’s getting into. I’m gonna overwhelm him.”

Also on the card:

• Junior middleweight Erickson Lubin (24-2, 17 KOs), 27, of Orlando, Florida, who is looking to bounce back from a ninth-round knockout loss to Sebastian Fundora in April 2022 in a fight of the year contender, and Luis Arias (20-3-1, 9 KOs), 33, of Milwaukee, who is 2-2 in his last four fights, including a split decision over former unified champion Jarrett Hurd, will meet in the 10-round co-feature. Lubin missed the news conference because of flight delays traveling to Minneapolis.

• Fernando Martinez (15-0, 8 KOs), 31, of Argentina, will defend the IBF junior bantamweight title for the second time when he faces Jade Bornea (18-0, 12 KOs), 28, of the Philippines, in a mandatory fight in the opener.

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Adames-Williams photos: Esther Lin/Showtime

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