Julian Williams: 'Lucky Punch' Only Way Gallimore Can Beat Me

By Keith Idec

Julian Williams doesn’t believe Nathaniel Gallimore is equipped to back up all his tough talk Saturday night.

The confident Gallimore has predicted he’ll knock out Williams in what will be his coming-out party in Las Vegas. Gallimore (20-1-1, 17 KOs), a native Jamaican who grew up in Evanston, Illinois, and Philadelphia’s Williams (24-1-1, 15 KOs, 1 NC) are set to meet in an IBF junior middleweight elimination match at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

The winner will advance toward a title shot against the winner of the main event Saturday night – a 12-round, 154-pound title unification bout between IBF champ Jarrett Hurd (21-0, 15 KOs) and IBO/WBA champ Erislandy Lara (25-2-2, 14 KOs).

“I think Gallimore has performed decently against the competition he’s had,” Williams said Wednesday as part of an open workout in Las Vegas. “He got beat by a journeyman [Virgilijus Stapulionis] and had a draw with another journeyman [Urmat Ryskeldiev]. He seems to have gotten hot at the right time, but we’ll see if he brings it on Saturday night.

“He’s backing himself into a corner. He has to back up those words he’s saying. Overall, I think he’s a solid fighter, a good test and it should be an entertaining fight. He said he’s gonna knock me out, but that’s really the only way he could possibly win. One lucky punch. That’s all he’s banking on. I’m going to out-class him and out-dog him.”

Gallimore claims Williams is known merely for getting knocked out by former IBF junior middleweight champion Jermall Charlo. Houston’s Charlo (26-0, 20 KOs), now a top contender within the middleweight division, knocked out Williams in the fifth round of their December 2016 bout in Los Angeles.

Williams wants to prove that he is better than he showed that night as he attempts to secure another title shot.

“I’ve always known I had guts,” Williams said. “I’ve always known I’m a really good fighter with all the tools to become a world champion. I didn’t need to learn anything about myself after the loss. I just had to correct some things and move forward.”

Showtime will televise the Gallimore-Williams and Hurd-Lara fights as part of a tripleheader set to start at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.