By Gary “Digital” Williams at ringside
Photos: Mike Greenhill
Philadelphia, PA’s Julian “J-Rock” Williams outworked, outpunched and outhustled his way to a unanimous decision over previously undefeated “Swift” Jarrett Hurd of Accokeek. MD to win the unified WBA/IBF/IBO Super Welterweight championship at the Eagle Bank Arena in Fairfax, VA in front of a crowd of 5,105.
Williams beat Hurd to the punch with great jabs and inside punches. Williams repeatedly was first in his exchanges with Hurd. In the second round. Williams dropped Hurd with a left hand to the head. It was the first time Hurd had been dropped in his pro career.
Hurd did land some shots midway through the contest but Williams seemed to have an answer for every Hurd flurry by using angles and great movement. There would be no late-round heroics for Hurd as Williams went on to win by scores of 116-111 and 115-112 twice. Williams wins his first world championships and is now 27-1-1, 16 KO’s. Hurd loses for the first time and is now 23-1, 16 KO’s.
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“I am just overwhelmed,” said Williams. “This is such a great feeling. I outclassed him. I am one of the best fighters in the world. Maybe I wasn’t ready for the title the first time I got the shot. I took the loss. I took it like a man and the whole world doubted me. I went into this fight a five to one underdog. This is a dream come true. I have been waiting for this for years. I never ditched the gym. I never got into girls or left the gym. I am from the streets, but I was never in the streets. I was in the gym practicing my craft. The only people that believed in me were my team, but all I can say is ‘and the new!’
“He wasn’t easier to hit than I thought. He was crafty and he had heavy hands. I just stayed poised. I listened to my coach and I just worked. He couldn’t hurt me. I saw everything he was throwing. I knocked him down. The game plan was to win however I could. I adapted on the fly. We knew he had certain tendencies and worked on his tendencies.”
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Hurd stated, “I wasn’t able to get off. I can’t really call it right now. I have to go back and watch. I was loading up on my shots instead of just letting my hands go. J-Rock was just the better man tonight. There’s definitely a rematch clause in our contract and I’m going to go for it. I’m going to come back better than I was tonight.
Regarding the knockdown, Hurd said, “It didn’t really change my strategy. It was just a flash knockdown. It caught me by surprise. I wasn’t really hurt.”
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