Yoenis Tellez vs Julian Williams Preview March 1st, 2025
Unbeaten Yoenis Tellez of Cuba is set to battle it out with former IBF and WBA Jr. Middleweight Champion Julian ‘J Rock’ Williams of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this Saturday, March 1st. The 12-round fight from Brooklyn, New York is for the vacant WBA Interim Junior Middleweight Title and can be seen live on pay-per-view in most nations. Tellez last fought in October when he stopped Johan Gonzalez in the seventh round while Williams last saw action in January, 2024 when he halted Gustavo David Vittori in the second round.
Tellez vs Williams Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Julian Williams +750
- Yoenis Tellez -1200
My Pick
Tellez is just 24 years old and fights out of Stafford, Texas. He has just 46 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in 2020 due to his perfect mark of 9-0 with 7 Ko’s. He’s gone the distance just twice. The first time was just six rounds against Cameron Krael in May, 2023 via a unanimous decision and the second time was a 10-round unanimous nod over Joseph Jackson last April. While there’s no doubt he has excellent power with a current knockout ratio of 77.8 per cent, he also possesses fine boxing skills as he won every round on the scorecards in both of his decision victories.
Tellez measures 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 74-inch reach and enjoyed a fine amateur career as he made it to the quarterfinals of the 2019 Cuban National Championships and started his pro career with a couple of fights in Russia. None of his first five opponents had a winning record but his last four all did with a combined record of 103-6. Still, he’s taking a step up in class against Williams this weekend.
The 34-year-old Williams won his junior middleweight titles in May, 2019 with a unanimous decision over Jarrett Hurd and then lost them in his very next fight when he was stopped in the fifth round by Jeison Rosario. He then lost two fights in a row as he was beaten by Vladimir Hernandez by 10-round split decision in October, 2021. That skid was halted though in his next outing against Rolando Mansilla as he won an eight-round unanimous decision. However, Williams was beaten again in his next fight as he was stopped in the ninth round by Carlos Adames in a shot at the WBC Interim Middleweight Title in June, 2023.
Williams bounced back again with the win over Vittori in January, 2024 and this is his first fight since. This means he’s lost three of his past four fights and enters the contest with a record of 29-4-1 with 17 Ko’s. His first pro loss came at the hands of Jermall Charlo in December, 2016 when he was stopped in the fifth round in a shot at the IBF Jr. Middleweight Belt. Williams’ lone draw was a six-round affair with Francisco Santana in 2011. He also fought a no-contest with Hugo Centeno Jr. in 2013 when the bout was halted in the fourth round due to an accidental head butt.
Williams turned pro in 2010 and has 205 rounds of experience under his belt since then. He stands 5-feet-10-inches tall with a reach of 72.5 inches which means he gives up 1.5-inches in reach to Tellez. He isn’t a knockout artist by any means as 58.6 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage but he has enough power to drop anybody. However he has just one stoppage win in his last six fights and that was in his last outing and was his first since 2018. Along with beating Jarrett Hurd he’s also beaten some other pretty good boxers over the years such as Nathaniel Gallimore, Ishe Smith, Joey Hernandez, Eliezer Gonzalez, Freddy Hernandez and Joachim Alcine.
Prediction…
The aging veteran Williams is on the downside of his career now and is facing a boxer who’s 10 years younger and possesses tremendous power. It’s also true that power can be the great equalizer in boxing but Williams doesn’t appear to have enough of it to keep Tellez at bay at this stage of his career. I’m expecting Tellez to stop Williams somewhere along the line to boost his mark to 10-0.
Tellez has a great deal of power and is 10 years younger than Williams.
Play: Tellez -1200 @ BetOnline.ag
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Julian Williams betting • Yoenis Tellez betting