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By Thomas Gerbasi - At 24 years old, Julian Williams has been boxing half his life. That’s a lot of time to spend with gloves on when you think of the time spent sparring in boxing rings in his hometown of Philadelphia or fighting in countless other places as an amateur or professional.
But what about the other sacrifices, the ones that don’t show up on a win-loss record? Time spent away from family and friends, avoiding the “normal” life of a teenager or 20-something, and everything else that has to be given up in other to succeed at the highest levels of the sport. Williams has been through it all.
“I've been living boxing since I was about 12 years old and I never ventured off,” he said. “I always had my mind set on exactly what I wanted to be, and I had to basically give up everything.”
Williams pauses, then corrects himself.
“I didn't have to give up anything, because if all my dreams come true then it will all be worth it.”
That’s a lot of maturity to pack into just 24 years, but when you want to succeed bad enough, what most count as sacrifices are just a part of the job. And as Williams points out, it wasn’t like he was locked in the gym 24/7.
“I got to go to my prom, I got to eat candy if I wanted to. I didn't have nobody smack the candy out of my mouth. (Laughs) I just didn't do the typical things that the regular 15 or 16-year-old kids did because I was so focused on boxing. And it's paying off.”
It is, slowly but surely. Currently 17-0-1 with 10 knockouts and one no contest, Williams will seek an 18th victory this Saturday in Shelton, Washington when he faces Edgar Ortega (15-2, 10 KOs). It’s the fourth fight of a year in which he knocked out a former world title challenger (Freddy Hernandez) and a former NABF champion (Michael Medina), and handed a fellow prospect (Eliezer Gonzalez) his first pro loss. Not a bad 12 months, especially with the opportunity to win one more coming up on this weekend’s Showtime card.
“It was really exciting,” he said, of 2014. “I think I did really well this year and made my mark as a future contender for a junior middleweight title. It was a good, productive year.”
2015 is expected to be the big one though, the year in which Williams goes from prospect to contender. Some would say he’s already there, pointing to the fact that despite only 19 pro fights, he’s faced better competition than several of his more highly-touted peers. Williams admits with a laugh that such a path wasn’t crafted by design, but he hasn’t steered clear of it either. [Click Here To Read More]
But what about the other sacrifices, the ones that don’t show up on a win-loss record? Time spent away from family and friends, avoiding the “normal” life of a teenager or 20-something, and everything else that has to be given up in other to succeed at the highest levels of the sport. Williams has been through it all.
“I've been living boxing since I was about 12 years old and I never ventured off,” he said. “I always had my mind set on exactly what I wanted to be, and I had to basically give up everything.”
Williams pauses, then corrects himself.
“I didn't have to give up anything, because if all my dreams come true then it will all be worth it.”
That’s a lot of maturity to pack into just 24 years, but when you want to succeed bad enough, what most count as sacrifices are just a part of the job. And as Williams points out, it wasn’t like he was locked in the gym 24/7.
“I got to go to my prom, I got to eat candy if I wanted to. I didn't have nobody smack the candy out of my mouth. (Laughs) I just didn't do the typical things that the regular 15 or 16-year-old kids did because I was so focused on boxing. And it's paying off.”
It is, slowly but surely. Currently 17-0-1 with 10 knockouts and one no contest, Williams will seek an 18th victory this Saturday in Shelton, Washington when he faces Edgar Ortega (15-2, 10 KOs). It’s the fourth fight of a year in which he knocked out a former world title challenger (Freddy Hernandez) and a former NABF champion (Michael Medina), and handed a fellow prospect (Eliezer Gonzalez) his first pro loss. Not a bad 12 months, especially with the opportunity to win one more coming up on this weekend’s Showtime card.
“It was really exciting,” he said, of 2014. “I think I did really well this year and made my mark as a future contender for a junior middleweight title. It was a good, productive year.”
2015 is expected to be the big one though, the year in which Williams goes from prospect to contender. Some would say he’s already there, pointing to the fact that despite only 19 pro fights, he’s faced better competition than several of his more highly-touted peers. Williams admits with a laugh that such a path wasn’t crafted by design, but he hasn’t steered clear of it either. [Click Here To Read More]
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