By Ryan Burton

Super welterweight contender Julian Williams (25-1-1) is back in position for a second world title shot after his victory over Nathaniel Gallimore (20-2-1) on Saturday night in Las Vegas. The fight was an IBF eliminator and the victory should put Williams in position to face IBF/IBO/WBA super welterweight champion Jarrett Hurd in the future.

In this Q&A, BoxingScene.com speaks to Williams' trainer Stephen "Breadman" Edwards about his fighter's performance.

BoxingScene.com: First off what did you think of the fight and in particular Julian's performance?

Stephen Edwards: To quote Sun Tzu, The Art of War. "Engage people with what they expect: it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment - that which they cannot anticipate."

Gallimore kept telling on himself with his immaturity. He kept talking about Julian's chin and how Julian would run from him. So I made sure Julian didn't tip off the game plan. I told him to act humble so Gallimore would think he's scared. But Ryan, there is no such thing as a bully where we are from. All of the bullies are dead. So our plan was to box early as Gallimore expected then as Gallimore weakened we would back him up and beat him up. I will admit Julian started inside a little earlier than I wanted him too. But nevertheless it worked. Bullies can't take that.

From a proud moment stand point I give him a 10. These young guys go through alot on social media after a loss. So he had to exercise the demons of the Charlo loss. Most people were picking Gallimore to stop Julian, the betting odds even swung into Gallimore's favor. I wish Julian didn't have a social media account but it's something I have to deal with. From a strict performance stand point I give him a 7.5. I think he could have stopped Gallimore if he didn't get anxious. But he will be better because of this fight. He needed it.

BoxingScene.com: In the third round Julian really started to pick Gallimore apart. You must be a lot more pleased with this fight compared to the Smith fight.

Stephen Edwards: Yes, I was more pleased. Although Smith is more accomplished and is better technically than Gallimore. Because of the so called punching power and Gallimore's height and reach, I knew Julian viewed Gallimore as more of a physical threat. So he was more aware. Plus Gallimore motivated him because of social media stalking. He definitely fought a better fight versus Gallimore. but that is to be expected after your 1st loss. It usually takes a few fights to move forward. Plus people keep forgetting Smith is a cagey dude.

BoxingScene.com: Gallimore came out with a sense of urgency in the 11th but after an initial flurry Julian hurt him bad and it seemed like a knockout was going to be possible.  What were you thinking as that round was progressing?

Stephen Edwards: I knew he shot his his load. We worked on defending loud outbursts like that. Gallimore is a bit of a front runner. His 2 losses come from him not finishing as strong as he starts.  I was hoping Julian would settle down and hit him with a good body shot. Gallimore was knocked down by Michael Finney with a body shot late in their fight. In the ring before the fight started I told Julian the body shots would weaken him. Gallimore had a big bulge in his stomach like he ate too much close to the fight. I wanted Julian to KO him but he got a little excited. Nevertheless that round sealed the performance and the deep water drowning J Rock predicted. He took the 2nd half of the fight big.

BoxingScene.com: This fight was an eliminator for the right to face WBA/IBF/IBO champion Jarrett Hurd.  What did you think of his performance against Erislandy Lara?

Stephen Edwards: Jarrett Hurd is one heck of a fighter. I saw him fight a few years ago and he was just okay. Now that he's come into his own, he's a monster. He brings a lot of good stuff to the table. His conditioning and ability to absorb punishment is among the best in boxing. Lara is not an easy guy to fight and he's as skilled fighter as you will see but Hurd wanted the fight because he believes in his ability to track down movers. Both Hurd and Lara put on a show. Great fight man. We have our work cut for us if we fight Hurd. But as good as Hurd is, you can do things to him. He's not hard to win rounds against. The Lara fight came down to subjective preference. That was a really close fight.

BoxingScene.com: All signs point to Hurd fighting Jermell Charlo in another unification fight. If that is the case do you guys want to stand by and wait for the winner or do you want to stay active?

Stephen Edwards: I want Julian back in the ring before the summer is out. Maybe Late August or early September. Against who I have no idea because I understand Showtime may have big plans for a unification or whatever. What I don't want to do is have him sit out over 9 months again. So let me see how his bruises heal then we can get a better grasp on when the next fight will take place.

BoxingScene.com: After last night Julian and Jarrett obviously move up a notch and Lara drops slightly but what do you think of the division after these most recent fights?

Stephen Edwards: Junior Middleweight is the best division in boxing as far as just straight talent. There are like 15 guys who may be able to beat one another on any given night. Young guns like (Erickson) Lubin who I still think has a future. Prime vets like Hurd, Charlo, (Sadam) Ali. Then you have guys like Julian, Brian Castano, Michel Soro, Tony Harrison looking to break through. Kell Brook just moved up. It's really stacked. It's just too many to name. 154 is no joke.

BoxingScene.com: If you could get any fight next who would it be?

Stephen Edwards: No one in particular but whoever is willing to partake in full VADA testing. I will not take another championship fight with no testing. It's too much stuff going on in boxing at the top level to not test in these big fights. In the wake of what happened with GGG versus Canelo, I think all championship fights should have strict testing for the months leading up to the fight.

BoxingScene.com: Any thing else you want to discuss before we wrap this up?

Stephen Edwards: Just happy we won.

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