LAS VEGAS – Julian Williams wants a title shot after he battles Vladimir Hernandez on Saturday night.

The former IBF/IBO/WBA 154-pound champion will fight for the first time in 20 months when he encounters Hernandez in a 10-round fight on the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder undercard at T-Mobile Arena. Philadelphia’s Williams (27-2-1, 16 KOs, 1 NC) isn’t treating this as a tune-up bout, though, because he is well aware of how Hernandez ruined Alfredo Angulo’s plan to fight for a super middleweight world title.

The Mexican-born Hernandez (12-4, 6 KOs), a southpaw from Stockton, California, thoroughly out-worked and out-boxed Mexico’s Angulo (26-8, 21 KOs) in a nationally televised, 10-round super middleweight match Hernandez took on less than two days’ notice in August 2020.

“I’m expecting a tough, hard fight,” Williams told BoxingScene.com following an undercard press conference Thursday at MGM Grand Garden Arena. “I think he’s very tough and determined. That counts for a whole lot. I think people forget that he came in on two days’ notice against Angulo. He had about a five-week training camp for this, so I’m expecting a tough fighter.”

Beating Angulo obviously was helpful, but Angulo was a 38-year-old faded fighter when Hernandez upset him 13 months ago at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Williams is 31 and still considered an elite junior middleweight.

Hernandez has competed most recently within the 168-pound division, but he also has fought near the 154-pound limit during his 12-year pro career. His fight with Williams will be contested at a catch weight of 157 pounds.

Williams wants a shot at IBF/WBA/WBC champ Jermell Charlo (34-1-1, 18 KOs) or WBO champ Brian Castano (17-0-2, 12 KOs) after facing Hernandez. He lost the IBF and WBA belts to Jeison Rosario in his last fight – a surprising, fifth-round, technical-knockout defeat in January 2020 at Temple University’s Liacouras Center in Philadelphia.

“I wanna get his guy out the way, God willing,” Williams said. “Then I wanna go right back and fight a champion immediately. I know Jermell got a mandatory coming up [against Bakhram Murtazaliev]. You know, and I know Castano don’t have a dance partner, as far as I know. I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. Like I said, I’m willing to fight whoever has a world title, a legitimate world title. I don’t wanna fight for a WBA regular title. No disrespect to anybody, but I don’t wanna fight for any secondary title. I wanna fight a world champion. So, that’s my goal.”

Williams was supposed to end his long layoff twice against Brian Mendoza since late last year.

Their December 26 bout was scrapped because Williams contracted COVID-19. Their June 26 bout was canceled as well because Williams sustained an elbow injury while training.

ESPN2, FS1, ESPN Deportes and FOX Deportes all will air Williams-Hernandez as the opener of a cable doubleheader before the pay-per-view portion of the Fury-Wilder undercard begins at 9 p.m. EDT ($79.99). The second fight of this telecast, which will start at 7 p.m. EDT, will match Brooklyn’s Edgar Berlanga (17-0, 16 KOs) against Argentina’s Marcelo Coceres (30-2-1, 16 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight match.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.