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JULIAN WILLIAMS DISCUSSES WIN OVER ISHE SMITH AND FUTURE PLANS: "I LET MY NUTS BE BIGGER THAN MY BRAIN"

By Percy Crawford | November 21, 2017
JULIAN WILLIAMS DISCUSSES WIN OVER ISHE SMITH AND FUTURE PLANS:

"I really wanted to go in there and knock him out. When you bringing ass like that, you’re susceptible to getting hit back. He was rumbling, so we were going at it...you got Floyd in the front row smirking and smiling and shit, I knew he was going to fight. But it turned out to be a good fight; a little better than I wanted it to be actually...Sometimes I let my nuts be bigger than my brain. I get in and want to exchange a little bit too much," stated jr. middleweight contender Julian Williams, who talked about his recent victory over former world champion Ishe Smith, his future plans, and more. Check it out!

PC: You were disappointed that Joshua Conley didn’t offer much resistance. Ishe Smith definitely offered some resistance and it made for a great fight. Given some of his more conservative efforts in the past, were you expecting that?

JW: Oh yeah, I knew he would. He’s a warrior. I knew he would. 

PC: I thought you did some great body work and you had your jab going early. What did you think of your performance?

JW: I thought I did pretty good. I think I could have went to his body a little bit more. I was going to the body, but I wasn’t consistent enough with it. I was just touching it in spots when I should have been consistent about it. On a scale of 1 to 10, I think I did like a 6. I could have done a lot better. He kind of sucked me into a...I really was trying to knock him out. I think I got caught up in a little bit of that, trying to become the first person to stop him. But, nevertheless, it was a good experience. 

PC: I think sometimes we tend to overlook what a crafty, sturdy veteran could bring to the table and I think Ishe showed us that on Saturday night. 

JW: I agree! I think people expected me to just go in there and blow him out. I ain’t gonna lie, I expected to go in there and blow him out, but he’s never been stopped for a reason, you know what I mean? He showed his heart, especially when he got cut. Those were some terrible cuts from unintentional headbutts. I really didn’t mean to do it. I’m not a dirty fighter. We bumped heads with each other; it just so happened for once, I didn’t get cut. Usually it’s me when that happens. I hope he heals up fast, but yeah, it was a tough fight. 

PC: You mentioned him luring you into what he wanted to do. You started the fight with a beautiful jab. Do you feel like in being lured into his fight, you got away from your jab a little bit?

JW: Absolutely! Absolutely, but there were spots in the fight where I would go back to it. I think I could have easily won the fight off of my back foot, using my jab, and moving around the ring. I could have easily shut him out 10-zip like that, but I really wanted to go in there and knock him out. When you bringing ass like that, you’re susceptible to getting hit back. He was rumbling, so we were going at it. 

PC: Was that surprising to you that he was rumbling? Did you expect him to be playing defense and trying to counter you?

JW: Nope! I wasn’t expecting him to do that. I’ve been watching Ishe since The Contender. What year did that come out in? 

PC: I think 2005. 

JW: I was 15 years old. I remember when he upset Pawel Wolak on ShoBox. I know he’s defensive first, but I also knew he was in his hometown, he had his wife and kids in the crowd, his fans were there; no way he was going to be defensive in front of all of his people. You got Floyd in the front row smirking and smiling and shit, I knew he was going to fight. But it turned out to be a good fight; a little better than I wanted it to be actually. 

PC: I think the expectation was for you to blow him out or that it would be a very boring fight with you trying to hit a target that wasn’t offering very much to hit. At what point during the fight did you sense it would be that type of fight where you had to bite down on your mouthpiece?

JW: From the first bell. I could see he was coming and I wasn’t going to move away from no 39-year-old man the whole night. I could have did that though and just shut him out easy. Going back, that’s probably what I should’ve did. Sometimes I let my nuts be bigger than my brain. I get in and want to exchange a little bit too much. But it’s all a learning experience. 

PC: What can we expect next from you?

JW: I just want to stay busy. In 2018, I want to fight 3 times and stay busy and stay active because that’s the only way that I can get better and improve on some of the things that we’ve been working on in the gym. The goal is to stay busy. 

PC: Ishe Smith is a guy that you had some past Twitter exchanges with and you just got that fight out of the way. It almost seems inevitable that at some point, you and Austin Trout will fight. Is that a fight you would entertain?

JW: I know, right? I mean, it’s a weird situation because he had a chance to fight me in 2015. That fight was done. That’s why I fought a southpaw in Joey Hernandez to prepare to fight him; he commentated the Cuello fight on Fox Sports 1 and it was pretty much done and then the fight don’t happen. It wasn’t because of me. Everybody knows I wanted the fight. He’s just a funny...like a weird dude. He’s weird, man. I don’t ever say a man is scared of another man because he’s fought some tough dudes, but for some reason...I don’t know. How many times can we come to the table with Austin Trout? I really don’t care because now I really don’t gain nothing by beating Austin Trout. He had 2 fights in the last 2 years and he got stopped in one of them and he lost the other one in a real good fight. He doesn’t have a title, he’s not nobody's mandatories, and he’s not even high in the rankings anymore. I heard he was hatin' really bad on the broadcast team (laughing). People were calling me like, “Man, Austin Trout hates you.” 

PC: How long do you stay out of the gym?

JW: You know, every fight is different. I have been training non-stop since August. I probably seen my daughter like 2 1/2 weeks since August because I was in camp with Triple G for a month, I came back, and I left for my camp 7 days later in San Francisco. I was out there for another month and then I came back here to Philly about 2 weeks before the fight; and I stay at Breadman’s house 10 days before a fight, so I came back to my house for about 4 days and then I went right to Breadman’s house. 

PC: The sacrifices fighters make can be serious at times. 

JW: I know, right? It’s what you gotta do. 

PC: What experience did you take away from the Triple G camp?

JW: Just seeing how a pound-for-pound guy work. The whole atmosphere. It’s not just him in that gym. They have a lot of good fighters in there. They had a lot of dudes in that gym. It’s always good to be in a good atmosphere with good fighters such as myself. I want to be around world-class dudes on an everyday basis if I could. I’m around world-class dudes here in Philly; they just may not be as well-known as some of the guys I’ve been around. It was a good experience though. 

PC: When do you think you will get that itch to get back in the ring?

JW: I don’t know, man. I injured my hand in the fight and I had some injuries going into the fight. Right now, I just want to get healthy. It’s nothing serious. All fighters go through it, wear and tear. I’ve been fighting for a long time. It’s just normal wear and tear, but after a while, if you don’t handle it, it will become a big problem. 

PC: Sounds like you’re fighting a cold too. 

JW: Yeah, I am fighting a cold. It’s funny because as soon as I got done fighting, that night, I sat down and I was like, “Man, my throat is getting itchy.” I’m just going to get healthy. Hopefully I’ll be back soon around March or April. 

PC: Great fight and get better and I look forward to seeing you in there again soon. 

JW: Thanks, man! I appreciate the call.



[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]

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