Julian “J-Rock” Williams Returns Against Brian Mendoza After Long Layoff!
Former unified junior middleweight champion Julian “J-Rock” Williams (27-2-1, 16KOs) will take on Brian “La Bala” Mendoza (19-1, 13KOs) in his first fight in over a year! His last outing saw him losing his titles to Jesion “Banana” Rosario in January 2020. Williams was knocked out in five rounds, surrendering his titles in his hometown of Philadelphia.
J-Rock Williams was due to return to the ring in December 2020 against Dennis Hogan. However, a positive COVID-19 test scrapped the card.
Ranked #4, #6 and #11 by the WBA, WBC and IBF respectively at junior middleweight, the former champion seeks redemption as he works his way towards world title glory. Standing in his way is unranked fringe junior middleweight contender Medoza.
The Albuquerque, New Mexico native, has been seeking a big fight for some time now. While he will go into this fight as the underdog, he has a major opportunity to propel himself into the rankings for bigger fights.
Williams is a talented fighter but has shown a chin vulnerable to power punchers. This effectively makes Mendoza a threat as he has thirteen KO’s out of nineteen wins. It should be interesting to see how the Philadelphia native bounces back against an aggressive power puncher. Additionally, this will be his first outing since splitting with career trainer Stephen “Breadman” Edwards.
This fight is set to take place on the undercard of the WBA Regular Junior Welterweight bout between Mario Barrios and multi-division champion Gervonta Davis, on June 26.
By: Jerrell Fletcher
