Jermall Charlo – Julian Williams: A Closer Look
By Joshua “JDB” Brewer
The night of December 10th should set the tone for the Junior Middleweight division. We won’t get an answer to every single question but we rarely do in boxing. This division may very well be the hottest in boxing. There are a multitude of budding and bonafide stars with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, 50-1-1, 34 KO’s, being the face of the division. But on December 10th, we should be in for a sure fired strategic battle when current IBF Junior Middleweight Champion Jermall “Hitman” Charlo, 24-0, 18 KO’s defends against Julian “J Rock” Williams, 22-0-1, 14 KO’s.
Boxing sometimes throws us for s loop when promoters sit on fights to let them ‘marinate’ as they call it. We’ve seen far too many times where future fights have been derailed because of this very same notion. I’m a firm believer in growing on the job. We’ve gotten too caught up in the appeal of an undefeated record that sometimes the potential for loss seems devastating. Well, it isn’t. Many fighters have come back from loses in their careers to do great things. When you compare other sports across the board, championship teams take losses in order to get the glory. The view should be no different in boxing. On any given night anything is possible. The most unlikely of scenarios have unfolded several times.
By Williams and Charlo choosing to fight now, it’s a major statement for the fighters, the fans, and for boxing. What we get is two young fighters entering the prime of their careers. When last out, we saw Charlo in a highly contested chess match with Austin “No Doubt” Trout, 33-3, 17 KO’s. When the final bell rang,the judges saw Charlo as the winner. It’s boxing, we move on.
Williams did what he had to do and secured a win back in March and has had his eyes set on a championship belt for a while now. He will surely get his chance as Charlo’s International Boxing Federation (IBF) title is on the line. Confidence doesn’t seem to be lacking with either fighter and after a few on and off again announcements leading up the fight finally being signed, the time to show and prove is finally upon us.
This is truly a pick-em fight and for fans sake, I hope the best version of each of these fighters shows up on Saturday. We’ve had a few other fights over the past month that turned out to be better on paper than in the actual ring. Regardless, signs show that each of these fighter’s better days lie ahead and neither should be written off after this Saturday. We owe it to our young boxing stars to give them the opportunity to grow with each fight. Someone’s 0, will go but they shall stand to fight another day.
My prediction is the fighter whose jab prevails in the close moments will ultimately come out on top because styles should suggest that they may be equal from an overall talent perspective though some may argue differently. Past fights from these two would suggest that this goes the distance but it will be interesting to see how Williams’ power translates in what is his toughest foe yet. We could be in for something special. As the careers, have dwindled down on two of boxings greatest stars of the era, who need not be named, it’s finally time for the spotlight to shine on those that will carry us through the future.
And to that, may the best man win.
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