By Ian S Palmer
There’s an IBF Junior Middleweight title eliminator on tap this Saturday, April 7th at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas. Julian ‘J Rock’ Williams of Philadelphia will be taking on Nathaniel Gallimore of Jamaica in a 12-rounder which can be seen live in the U.S. On Showtime and on BoxNation in the UK and Ireland. Williams last fought in November when he beat Ishe Smith by unanimous decision. Gallimore’s last bout also took place in November when he stopped Esau Herrera in the first round.
The 27-year-old Williams has a fine record of 24-1-1 with 15 Kos to his name. His lone loss was a fifth-round KO at the hands of IBF World Champion Jermall Charlo in December of 2016 while his draw was a six-round affair with Francisco Santana in 2011. Williams also fought a no-contest with Hugo Centeno Jr. when the bout was halted in the fourth round due to an accidental head butt. Williams stands 5-feet-11-inches tall with a reach of 72.5 inches. He turned pro in 2010 and has 145 rounds of experience under his belt since then. He has decent power with a current knockout ratio of 56 per cent.
There are a few other familiar names on Williams’ opponent list up to now other than Charlo and Smith as he’s also taken on the likes of Centeno Jr., Joey Hernandez, Eliezer Gonzalez, Freddy Hernandez and Joachim Alcine. He hung in there against Charlo until his chin gave out and he’s now hoping to work his way back up the rankings to improve his chances at getting a world title shot. Smith faced better pro opponents than Gallimore and he also enjoyed a pretty good amateur career before turning pro.
Gallimore is 29-year-old and now fights out of Illinois. He’s also lost just one fight as his record stands at 20-1-1 with 17 Kos. He stands 5-feet-11-inches tall with a reach of 73 inches. This means he’s basically the same size as Williams. Gallimore turned pro in 2014 and has boxed 70 rounds since then and didn’t really have much of an amateur career. What’s noticeable about him though is his power as Gallimore’s current knockout ratio stands at 77 per cent.
If there’s a knock against the Jamaican is may be that he hasn’t faced any real contenders as of yet. He’s beaten the likes of Justin DeLoach, Jeison Rosario, Angelo Baez and Michael Finney. Gallimore’s lone defeat came at the hands of Virgilijus Stapulionis by way of split decision in June of 2016. His draw was an eight-round affair with Urmat Ryskeldiev in October of 2015. Just 10 of Gallimore’s 22 opponents have had winning records, but he’s stopped most of them anyway.
Prediction…
It’s hard to tell how a power puncher will do when he steps up in class as he may not have the chance to land his big shots. On the other hand, he may just be so powerful that it doesn’t really matter who’s standing in front of him. Since Williams has experience against better opposition and has shown some decent skills up to now I think I’ll stick with him.
