Julian Williams appears to be in a good mood on the Tuesday before one of the biggest fights of his career against Carlos Adames. The 12-rounder at The Armory in Minneapolis is his second consecutive appearance in the venue, and it’s for the interim WBC middleweight title.

So, at 33, the former junior middleweight boss from Philadelphia is less than 45 minutes on Saturday away from rejuvenating a career that stalled after back-to-back losses to Jeison Rosario and Vladimir Hernandez. 

That’s pressure, but “J-Rock” isn’t letting anyone see him sweat. In fact, he’s quick with a laugh when asked if this is his annual appearance or will we be seeing more of him in 2023.

“It depends, man,” he said. “It depends.”

On what happens Saturday night?

“Well, I'm gonna win Saturday night. It just depends on the schedules.”

Since he won the WBA and IBF belts at 154 pounds by beating Jarrett Hurd in 2019, he’s only fought once in each of the ensuing years. That’s not a schedule any fighter wants, which begs the question – for a young man who already won a world title and could do anything he wants in life, is boxing still a hundred percent of that life like it always was?

“From where I'm at right now, I need it a hundred percent,” Williams said. “Because way before you even knew my name or knew who I was or seen me fight, I had a goal and I've been chasing this goal since I was a little boy, since the first day I walked in the gym. I used to watch HBO Boxing After Dark and I used to see Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones and all those guys win world titles. And I said that I wanted to be a two-division world champion - 154 and 160 - and Saturday night I got my opportunity to make that dream come true. So all the money that I made, all the money that I didn't make, or whatever, however you want to put it, it matters, but it don't really matter. What matters is the goal. If I accomplish the goal, the money's going to come. There’s only about so much money you can make anyway if you don’t get no glory.”

On Williams’ Twitter bio, Boxing Junkie comes after Muslim 1st, Pro Boxer and Proud Dad, but one read of his feed shows that even if he’s not in the ring, he cares about what’s going on in it, and not just what’s happening now, but what came before him. For a Philadelphia fighter, doing big things in the middleweight division means something, considering he will be following in the footsteps of Bernard Hopkins, Bennie Briscoe, “Cyclone” Hart, Willie Monroe, “Gypsy” Joe Harris, and Bobby Watts, just to name a few. So is this quest for a 160-pound title a Philly thing?

“I’m about to make it a Philly thing on Saturday night,” he laughs.

So this is not my romantic notion of Williams carrying on the middleweight legacy of his hometown?

“No, it's our romantic notion because with the Philadelphia middleweight scene over the years, obviously Bernard Hopkins leading the pack, I think it just makes for a great story.”

It does. An even better story would be one of redemption, of Williams beating the odds and upsetting the Dominican champion. I mention a quote I read where Adames said of the fight, “I see Williams as a dangerous opponent. He’s a former world champion who has a lot of experience and he has nothing to lose at this point in his career. I’m expecting a tough fight, but I feel I’m the better fighter in every aspect. I feel I can break him down and end the fight in the middle to late rounds.”

To me, the key part of that quote is “at this point in his career.” If I’m Williams, that might annoy me a bit. I’m apparently not Williams.

“I don't look at it like that,” he said. “I look at it as somebody put together a nice press release for him. (Laughs) Because it's fight week.”

So stirring the pot?

“That’s all.”

See, nothing appears to rattle Williams in the lead-up to Saturday night. And, at this point, maybe it shouldn’t. He’s been a pro for a long time, he’s a student of the game, and he knows that a good fight doesn’t need trash talk or over the top antics. And even if it had all that, the two combatants will still have to step through the ropes and fight. So all the speculation about where Williams goes from here is unnecessary in his mind, because it all rides on the result of his 12 rounds or less with Adames.

“You know what, I haven't even thought about that,” he said when asked about his future at 160. “I just want to focus on this tough 36 minutes I got coming up on Saturday night and then I'm gonna go from there.”

I ask him if he still enjoys the grind of the fight game. Or did he ever?

“I never really enjoyed it. I enjoy the feeling of winning and succeeding. So, with that being said, I know that I got to put my body through that for however long it takes for me to get to the point where I want to get to. So I don't necessarily like it, but I accept it and I push as hard as I can.”

It’s the paradox of Julian Williams. On one hand, he’s a thinking man’s fighter who knows the game. On the other, he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty and engage in a fistfight. That’s a tough line to walk. Always has been, and apparently always will be.

“I think sometimes my temperament gets in the way of my brain, but this Saturday night, I want my brain to get in the way in my temperament.”

At least until Adames hits him. Then Williams has to hit him back.

“That’s how I was raised,” he laughs. “That's before boxing. My mom told me if somebody hits you, hit him back.”