Julian "J-Rock" Williams (born April 5, 1990) is an American professional boxer. He held the WBA (Super), IBF, and IBO light middleweight titles from 2019 to 2020.
Amateur career Williams started boxing at the age of 12. He had an amateur record of 77-10. He reached number five in the rankings at national level, although never won a national tournament. Williams' trainer, Stephen Edwards, said that Williams' preparation as an amateur boxer was erratic, so began working on a more rigorous training regime as Williams turned pro.
Professional career Williams made his professional debut in May 2010, beating Antonio Chaves Fernandez technical knockout (TKO) in the first round. In April 2013, Williams became the second fighter to stop journeyman Dashon Johnson, improving his record to 12–0–1 with a third-round TKO. In his next fight, Williams won a unanimous decision (77-72, 77-72, 77-72) over former world champion Joachim Alcine. Alcine was dropped three times, but he rallied and won the final three rounds, landing significant shots on Williams. The prospect would survive and take the win. Williams next faced fellow prospect Hugo Centeno Jr., but the fight ended in a no contest after an accidental headbutt.
On 10 December 2016, Williams challenged IBF champion Jermall Charlo. Charlo retained his title with a fifth-round stoppage of Williams. Charlo dropped Williams in the second round with a powerful jab. Williams came back and fought a clever fight, making Charlo miss, slipping punches, and landing some good counters. In round five, Charlo landed a right uppercut, dropping Williams hard. Williams got up, however Charlo went for the finish, and got it with a third knockdown after a barrage of punches ending with a left hook. After the referee stopped the fight, Williams went over to congratulate Charlo. Charlo didn't want to embrace and told Williams, “I don’t want your congratulations, I want your apology.” The crowd, noticing the heat between the two corners, started to boo Charlo. In the post fight interview, Charlo stated Williams had disrespected him leading up to the fight.
On 11 May 2019, Williams beat Jarrett Hurd by unanimous decision for the unified light middleweight championship. In an early fight of the year candidate, both fighters went at war, but it was Williams who managed to drop Hurd in the second round, and got the better of him throughout the fight.
In the first time defending his belts, Williams faced Jeison Rosario, who was ranked #5 by the IBF and #9 by the WBA, at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 18, 2020. Williams boxed well in the beginning, but Rosario looked like the bigger man and was holding up well to Williams' attacks. In the fifth round, Rosario dominated Williams, shaking Williams up badly and forcing the referee to stop the fight to get the win.
Williams faced Yoenis Tellez for the WBA interim light-middleweight title at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on March 1, 2025, losing via unanimous decision.
Personal life Julian was raised in West Philadelphia and is a Muslim.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes36LossYoenis TellezUD12Mar 1, 202535Win29–4–1 Gustavo David VittoriTKO2 (8), Jan 12, 202434Loss28–4–1 Carlos AdamesTKO9 (12), Jun 24, 202333Win28–3–1 Rolando MansillaUD8Nov 5, 202232Loss27–3–1 Vladimir HernandezSD10Oct 9, 202131Loss27–2–1 Jeison RosarioTKO5 (12), Jan 18, 202030Win27–1–1 Jarrett HurdUD12May 11, 201929Win26–1–1 Francisco CastroKO2 (8), Dec 1, 201828Win25–1–1 Nathaniel Gallimore12Apr 7, 201827Win24–1–1 Ishe SmithUD10Nov 18, 201726Win23–1–1 Joshua ConleyTKO7 (10), Jun 30, 201725Loss22–1–1 Jermall CharloKO5 (12), Dec 10, 201624Win22–0–1 Marcello MatanoTKO7 (12), Mar 5, 201623Win21–0–1 Luciano CuelloTKO1 (10), Sep 22, 201522Win20–0–1 Arman OvsepyanTKO6 (10), Jun 13, 201521Win19–0–1 Joey HernandezUD10Apr 4, 201520Win18–0–1 Jamar FreemanTKO8 (10), Dec 20, 201419Win17–0–1 Eliezer GonzalezUD8Sep 11, 201418Win16–0–1 Michael MedinaKO8 (10), May 24, 201417Win15–0–1 Freddy HernándezTKO3 (10), Mar 17, 201416Win14–0–1 Orlando LoraTKO3 (10), Dec 7, 201315NC13–0–1 Hugo Centeno Jr.NC4 (10), Sep 12, 201314Win13–0–1Joachim AlcineUD8Jun 22, 201313Win12–0–1Dashon JohnsonTKO3 (6), Apr 20, 201312Win11–0–1Jeremiah WigginsTKO7 (8), Jan 26, 201311Win10–0–1Jonel TapiaTKO7 (8), Nov 17, 201210Win9–0–1Hector RosarioUD8Apr 28, 20129Win8–0–1Eberto MedinaUD6Sep 30, 20118Win7–0–1Raul RodriguezUD6Jul 22, 20117Draw6–0–1Francisco Santana6May 13, 20116Win6–0Marteze LoganUD4Mar 19, 20115Win5–0Allan MooreTKO1 (4), Jan 29, 20114Win4–0Mario Evangelista6Dec 3, 20103Win3–0Wes ParkhurstTKO1 (4), Nov 9, 20102Win2–0Dean Peters Jr.TKO1 (4), Oct 1, 20101Win1–0Antonio Chaves1 (4), May 7, 2010
See also List of male boxers List of world light-middleweight boxing champions
References
External links
Julian Williams - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings at Box.Live