Jeison Rosario: “As soon as I stepped into the ring, I knew he could not hurt me. I knew that my power was affecting him right away. This is a big victory for me and for the whole Dominican Republic. When I lost my last fight I said I will never lose again until I become champion of the world and that’s what happened tonight. I came prepared. I knew before the fight that I was going to win it.
“I have to give a lot of credit to my team. I had a 16-week training camp and that prepared me for this. My life is changed forever and I can support my family in a whole new way. I realized that I was going to win, once I was offered the fight. I knew that if I made the sacrifice, that I would do what I did tonight. I knew it 16 weeks ago.”
Julian “J-Rock” Williams: “Rosario was the better man tonight. It was a great homecoming for my fans and I’m sorry I let them down. What went wrong tonight needs to and will be fixed. We’re going to an immediate rematch and we look forward to returning the favor. I wasn’t surprised he was so good. I told everybody he’s a real fighter. I have to accept it. The cut blurred my vision a little bit but it wasn’t the reason why I lost. He was the better fighter tonight. We’ve got a rematch clause. I’ll see him again soon. I’ll be back.”
After seeing Rosario put J Rock in the yesterdays newspaper file, I decided to go see the Macgregor vs Cerrone fight. I knew going in that Connor would win that fight. If UFC was going to remain in business, this fight had to go to Connor, White knows that when/if Mayweather or Pacman decide to fight Connor, then he will have the biggest sporting event in history of sports. I said to a friend I was with, that do not be surprised if Connor stops him in round 1. My friend said no way and he told me Cerrone was going to win. I told him to bet the ranch on Connor because White would not let the winning lottery ticket out of his possession. After some bickering he decided to hold onto his money and just watch the fight. After the fight a grown man looked like he wanted to cry. He could not believe that the fix was in. I told him he needs to go to a good head doctor because this is EXACTLY what is going on in this world of the WWE/Boxing/MMA. Like it or not it’s BUSINESS as usual. And we the fans have to expect this continually.
Good.. I’m not the only who saw this as a fixed fight.. but in that Cerrone is not elite anymore his most recent big wins have been against low tier or unproven talents he was on a two fight losing streak and his previous three wins were against guys who aren’t even title contenders.. he was never supposed to beat Conor.. he was brought in to make a good promotion, talk some good shit and be a credible warm up fight before they try to figure out what’s next..
I liked j-rock before and even more so now. Took his loss like a man ,made no excuses and want to get back at him. He landed some serious shots on this guy and I can’t wait to see the rematch!
The first time I saw Banana, I knew he had talent, but I did not realized he had grown so much. I thought that Williams had levels that
that Rosario had not yet reached but I was wrong. His jabs and right hand counters in the pocket were a beauty to watch. A new star has arrived and he is younger than Gervonta Davis who brags about his youth while trying to avoid Loma.
100%
Agree with you that he was classy in defeat. Wouldn’t mind seeing JRock-Tony Harrison somewhere down the line. Both are very skilled, and have shaky chins. Would be fun while it lasted.
This kid will beat Williams again, and then I would like to see him unify with Charlo next.
Yea, he was pretty dominant… Williams could get lucky since it seems like Rosario doesn’t respect Williams power.. but I see Rosario winning a tough rematch
Possibly not even that tough though.
I think you’re right. As a champion, Rosario only way is up and improved. Same as Navarrete with Dogboe, Rosario could make an even easier work with Williams in the rematch. J Rock should think twice the decision to demand an immediate rematch, cause this wasn’t a close fight
Williams is classy in defeat. Refreshing.
I agree with many of the comments made here about the rare class that Julian Williams showed after a defeat. We have all heard post-fight comments where the loser starts with “I don’t want to make any excuses but…” and then proceeds with 20 excuses. Williams throws beautiful straight punches but he is somewhat stiff around the shoulders/neck area. He seems intelligent so I think that he would respond to improvement in his head and upper-body movement.
I didn’t catch the fight but Ive gotta watch the replay on youtube, I think Williams overlooked Rosario.
Big question is can Rosario beat any of the other champs?