Sources confirmed over the weekend that WBA/IBF unified World Super Welterweight Champion Julian “J-Rock” Williams will defend his titles against Jeison Rosario on Jan. 18 on a PBC on FOX telecast from Temple University’s Liacouras Center.
Williams will be joined on the card by IBO super bantamweight titlist Stephen “Cool Boy Steph” Fulton, whose opponent may be Lorenzo Parra II, the No. 6 -ranked super bantamweight in the WBA and Fulton is No. 7.
Williams (27-1-1, 16 knockouts) last fought on May 11 of this year, at the EagleBank Arena, in Fairfax, Virginia, when he pulled off an upset by beating defending WBA/IBF/IBO super welterweight beltholder Jarrett Hurd by unanimous decision in a strong candidate for 2019 Fight of the Year.
Williams will not be fighting Hurd on the January 18 date, since the rematch obligation has been exhausted, according to multiple sources. In their May fight, Williams knocked down Hurd in the second round.
Since then, Hurd (23-1, 16 KOs) has changed his team and has a new trainer, Wali Moses, the trainer for Shakur Stevenson.
Rosario (19-1-1, 13 KOs) is on a five-fight winning streak. The 24-year-old is 5-foot-11 and is based in Miami, Florida.
Fulton (17-0, 8 KOs) is one of the more underrated fighters at 122. Cool Boy Steph last fought Isaac Avelar, winning by sixth-round TKO. Fulton beat the sixth undefeated fighter on his resume when he stopped Avelar (16-1, 10 KOs). The interesting twist is at the time of the stoppage, Fulton was down 48-47 on Luis Escalona and Hector Maldonado’s scorecards, while judge David Avalos had Fulton up 48-47.
The Philly duo teamed on the May 11th PBC card in Fairfax. Fulton, 25, dominated veteran Paulus Ambunda to win the IBO super bantamweight belt. Lorenzo Parra II (20-1, 15 KOs) is 24 years old from Venezuela and has won his last six fights.
–ringtv.com
