Highlights
–Jermall Charlo and Julian Williams tried to establish their jabs in a competitive opening round. Then early in Round 2, Charlo landed a powerful jab to the nose that dropped Williams for the first time in his career.
–Williams rebounded with strong efforts in Rounds 3 and 4, connecting with several counter right hands to edge Charlo on the scorecards in each stanza.
–Midway through Round 5, Charlo blocked Williams’ straight right hand and countered with a pinpoint right uppercut that sent the challenger crumbling face-first to the canvas. Williams barely made it to his feet, but Charlo used an unanswered, 12-punch barrage to score his third knockdown and end the fight.
Jermall Charlo heard the whispers for months that he was avoiding a fight with Julian Williams. But when the two unbeaten 26-year-olds finally got in the ring, it was Williams who couldn’t avoid a vicious uppercut from the 154-pound champion.
In one of boxing’s most highly anticipated fights, Charlo (25-0, 19 KOs) proved that his power was too much for Williams, dropping the Philadelphia native three times en route to a fifth-round knockout victory.
It was the third successful title defense for Charlo and the Houston resident’s 17th stoppage victory in his last 19 fights.
Long before they finally traded leather, both Charlo and Williams (22-1-1, 14 KOs) frequently traded verbal shots at one another in news conferences and via social media. The icy relationship didn’t exactly thaw once they faced off in the ring, as both fighters refused to touch gloves following the referee’s final instructions.
Once the opening bell rang, Charlo and Williams were cautiously aggressive in what was a competitive first round, with both men attempting to set up power shots behind their jabs.
Then early in Round 2, Charlo scored the first big blow of the night, depositing Williams on his backside courtesy of a stiff jab to the nose. It was the first time “J Rock”—who entered Saturday having won 53 consecutive rounds—had hit the canvas in his pro career.
To his credit, Williams shook off the knockdown, closed out the round strong, then got back in the fight by edging Charlo on the scorecards in Rounds 3 and 4, thanks mostly to several stinging counter right hands.
The hard-hitting, two-way action continued until just past the midpoint of Round 5. That’s when Williams overextended on a straight right hand that Charlo blocked with his right glove before rearing back with the same hand and connectiving with a monster right uppercut.
The pinpoint shot underneath the chin sent Williams crumbling face-first to the canvas.
Although he looked down and out, Williams was able to barely beat referee Wayne Hedgpeth’s count. It only delayed the inevitable.
Smelling blood, Charlo went on the attack when the fight resumed and unleashed an unanswered, 12-punch assault, culminating with a short left hook that dropped Williams for a third time.
That was enough for Hedgpeth, who immediately waved an end to the fight at the 2:06 mark.
