By Ryan Burton
Former title challenger Julian Williams (23-1-1) will return to the ring on Saturday night when he faces Ishe Smith (29-8) at The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight will headline the latest edition of PBC on Bounce TV.
Williams bounced back from a December stoppage loss against then IBF super welterweight champion Jermall Charlo by stopping Joshua Conley in June. Prior to that loss he had stopped three opponents in a row and his career was on the upswing.
He hopes to recapture that momentum on Saturday and feels that he just has to follow his game plan to emerge victorious.
"I just need to be myself. Ishe is a tough competitor. He is a strong crafty veteran. I don't think I have to do anything special. Just be myself," Williams explained.
The 27-year-old Williams spent part of this camp at the SNAC Gym in Northern California as he has done the past few years. For this particular camp, he spent more time out there than he usually does.
"Training camp has been really good. I have been in camp out in the Bay Area out at SNAC Gym. It is my first time going out there for this long. I have been out there a number of times the past few years but I never stayed for more than 10 days. This time I did a whole month out there. It was great. I got real good sparring with some of the local guys and it was just a great training camp," Williams told BoxingScene.com.
Williams looks at Saturday day night as a great opportunity to reestablish himself as a rising star in the super welterweight division. One way to do that would be to stop Smith who has been very durable throughout his long career.
When asked about possibly stopping Smith, Williams admitted that he is very interested in being the first fighter to stop the former champion.
"I think it is definitely a goal. The goal is definitely to knock him out because that would be a feather in my cap if I am able to knock him out. I have seen guys out box him like Erislandy Lara and guys out fight him like Carlos Molina but nobody has been able to knock him out. The knockout is definitely the goal and would be a feather in my cap and I am pretty sure I will gain some good experience by doing it," said Williams.
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