Julian Williams Has The Latest Awful Sports Night in Philly

The outcome of Julian “J Rock” Williams’ outing last weekend was all too reminiscent of another prominent sports figure with strong ties to the City of Brotherly Love. Former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid experienced a brutal run of disappointing endings around January.

While Reid overcame his January struggles Sunday in the same role for the Kansas City Chiefs, Saturday night ended terribly for Williams. The former unified champion stumbled in boxing’s version of a home game.

Another Disappointing Philadelphia Sports Night

After a sharp first frame, Williams’ offense faltered in the second round. His challenger, Jeison Rosario, roared back at the reigning champion. Rosario landed a shot that left a nasty cut in Williams’ left eyelid. The Dominican’s jab added to the injury that quickly became a distraction for the champion.

Williams attempted to deal with Rosario’s power in the third and fourth rounds. The challenger’s confidence increased. Rosario wisely set up his power shots in the fifth round where he badly hurt the champion. Williams failed to adjust quickly while still able to fight. Moments after being stunned by a Rosario barrage, the two fighters became entangled and Williams ended up on the canvas. He took advantage of referee Benjy Esteves’ leniency and snuck in a short breather before climbing to his feet.

Once the action resumed Rosario patiently set-up the conclusion to complete his coup. As Williams moved away from Rosario’s jab he ran out of real estate. Rosario moved into position with Williams backed into a corner, before cleaning up the champion with a finishing left hook beautifully set up by a thunderous right uppercut. Esteves quickly stepped in to halt the onslaught. Williams looked defenseless for just a split second too long for the veteran’s liking.

A “Wow” could be read from the lips of the bloodied and stunned Williams as he stared at his corner for support. With the fight decided, moments later Rosario took possession of the IBF and WBA super welterweight titles Williams just swiped from then-unbeaten Jarrett Hurd back in May.

Andy Reid’s Struggles While in Philadelphia

Reid’s troubles in Philadelphia arose on his sport’s biggest stages. From 2002-2005 he guided the Eagles to four consecutive NFC Conference Championship games – the first year was the only away game (St. Louis Rams). His lone win came in the fourth one in 2005. He led the Eagles to a home win versus Atlanta, before losing to the New England Patriots by three points in Super Bowl XXXIX.

Reid and his Eagles went on the road to make it back to a fifth NFC title game in the 08-09 season. He fell to 1-4 conference round with a loss to the Arizona Cardinals. In 2019, Reid’s sixth season in Kansas City, he suffered his fifth such loss hosting the Patriots in his first AFC title game.

• 2001 NFC Championship Game lost to Saint Louis Rams
• 2002 NFC Championship Game lost to Tampa Bay Buccaneers 
• 2003 NFC Championship Game lost to Carolina Panthers
• 2005 Super Bowl XXXIX New England Patriots
• 2008 NFC Championship Game lost to Arizona Cardinals
• 2018 AFC Championship Game lost New England Patriots

Resilience is Key For Reid and Williams

A day after Williams’ TKO5 loss in Philadelphia, coach Reid found himself in early deficits of 10-0 and 17-7 versus the Tennessee Titans – in back-to-back AFC title games. A week earlier matters looked bleak as Reid stood on the sidelines – in Chiefs Kingdom – down 24-0 to the Houston Texans. After some of his best work under the headset, Reid and his Chiefs (14-4) are headed to face the San Francisco 49ers in his second Super Bowl.

Williams’ upset loss to Rosario Saturday night at Temple Univesity’s Liacouras Center dropped him to 1-2 in title fights. After the bout he kept his words to a minimum.

I told everybody he’s a real fighter. I have to accept it. The cut blurred my vision a little bit but it wasn’t the reason why I lost. He was the better fighter tonight. We’ve got a rematch clause. I’ll see him again soon. I’ll be back.

Rosario was stern in his prediction of dethroning Williams and entered the fight heavily favored. At one point sports books required $3000 on Williams to win $100. A $100 bet on Rosario could have returned $900.

Maybe Williams performs better as an under dog himself. He humbly accepted his misfortune and vowed to regroup.

What went wrong tonight needs to and will be fixed. We’re going to an immediate rematch and we look forward to returning the favor.

Conclusion

If there is a rematch, Williams won’t have an MVP to send out to fight for his titles like Reid with second-year starter Patrick Mahomes. However, along with his long-time trainer Stephen Edwards, there is a Team J Rock that works together through training and even walks onto the field of play together. As a unit they’ve been here before, so by the end of 2020 Williams may find himself with a chance to reclaim what he lost Saturday. That chance just may need to happen anywhere but Philly – it’s working out well for Reid!

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