Ishe Smith To Fight Julian Williams In November
Former world champion Ishe Smith will return to the ring as he is set to take on Julian Williams in a 10-round super welterweight bout that headlines Premier Boxing Champions on Bounce live from The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Saturday, November 18.
In the co-featured fight, Lionell Thompson clashes with unbeaten prospect Earl Newman in a 10-round light heavyweight bout.
In a press release sent on Monday afternoon, Mayweather Promotions CEO, Leonard Ellerbe spoke on the card presented on November 18th.
“The fans will be presented with variety; veterans and prospects going head-to-head and tough fighting styles meshing come fight night. The main event between Ishe Smith and Julian Williams is going to be an exciting battle! I think Ishe and Julian are going to put on a great show. Both fighters are very tough competitors and fight with everything they have. We also have a great undercard line-up. This is going to be an all-around exciting night of boxing for the fans.”
One of the co-promoters for the event, Tom Brown of TGB Promotions is excited at the prospect of Smith battling Julian Williams, who he claims to be a “top contender” for any of the super welterweight titles.
The 39-year-old Smith won his first world title in 2013, with a majority decision over Cornelius Bundrage, to become the first Las Vegas-native to win a world title, and is in the midst of a two fight winstreak.
“I took this fight just like I’ve taken every tough fight over the years,” said Smith. “I constantly challenge myself to the best and I believe Julian Williams is one of the best in the division. If you look at my resume, all I’ve done is fight the best guys, in their prime, so this is nothing new to me. I’ve reached the point where I’ve seen it all. This fight will get me exactly where I need to be, closer to a world title shot.”
Williams is working his way back into title contention by battling the former world champion, Smith. The 27-year-old Williams of Philadelphia suffered a KO loss to Jermall Charlo in his first title shot in 2016 and returned to the ring with a TKO victory over Joshua Conley in his last fight on June 30th.
“We’ve been working hard for months and I’m ready to get back in the ring… I could fight tomorrow. I know this is an important fight for my career. Ishe is a veteran and he is going to bring his ‘A’ game to try to prove he’s still got it. I’m not going to give him that opportunity. I will be victorious and show that I’m ready to fight the best in the world.