West Philly boxer Julian Williams is back with the trainer who helped him go from homeless to world champ

Julian Williams told himself he wasn’t going to cry four years ago after they buckled the world championship belt around his waist, but that did little to stop the tears from flowing. He grew up in various homeless shelters around Philadelphia, became a professional boxer two years after graduating from Overbrook High, and was knocked out in his first world-title shot.

Nothing came easy for Williams, so it was OK to forgive him in May of 2019 for becoming emotional on TV when he finally became champion. For a punishing sport, it was a beautiful moment when Williams reached the mountaintop alongside the trainer he met at 19. It was soon over.

Williams’ first title defense eight months later ended with him knocked out in the fifth round as a heavy favorite in a homecoming fight at the Liacouras Center. He lost his next fight, too. His promising career dimming, Williams had a falling out with Stephen Edwards — the trainer who helped him go from homeless to world champion — and they went their separate ways.

Nearly two years later, the two have reunited. They spent 4½ hours hashing out their differences on the sidewalk outside the West Philadelphia gym where they had spent countless hours together on their ride to that world title. And now they feel ready to make that climb again.

» READ MORE: West Philly’s Julian Williams, once homeless, became a boxing champion for himself, by himself

Williams (28-3, 16 knockouts) meets WBC interim middleweight champion Carlos Adames (22-1, 17 KOs) on Saturday night in the main event on Showtime at the Armory in Minneapolis.

Adames, a big puncher, has won four straight fights, three by knockout. His interim title makes him the No. 1 contender for WBC 160-pound champion Jermall Charlo. But Charlo has not fought in two years and is expected to move to 168 pounds when he returns. If so, the interim champion would become champion. And that could be Williams on Saturday if he stops Adames’ streak. The Philly boxer is a heavy underdog, but he’s used to that.

“I see a good fighter, I see a strong fighter, but I see a beatable fighter,” Williams said.

Williams met Edwards in 2009, just before he turned pro. Edwards, who years earlier had driven a SEPTA bus, had never trained a fighter. But the two formed a bond. They woke up every morning at 5:45 to run at a track in Upper Darby and spent the afternoons at Shuler’s Gym in West Philly.

» READ MORE: How former SEPTA bus driver Stephen Edwards became a world-champion boxing trainer

It seemed like “Breadman” and “J-Rock” were inseparable. Williams said there were times when his trainer didn’t even have to say something as the fighter already knew what his instruction was going to be. Edwards, Williams said, pushed him to train harder and is “super innovative” in the ring.

“He has a responsibility to me and I have a responsibility to him,” Williams said. “A coach and a fighter have to be compatible. If they’re not compatible, then it won’t work. Over the years, we helped each other grow. I helped him grow as a trainer because I was literally the first fighter he ever trained and he helped me grow a lot as a man because I met him when I was 19. I’m 33 now. We’ve had a good relationship. Ups and downs. But good.”

» READ MORE: Philadelphia’s Jaron Ennis will defend interim IBF welterweight title in Atlantic City on July 8

Williams said their time apart is now “water under the bridge.” The conversation featured a “little bit of yelling,” he said. But that’s OK because it ended with the boxer and trainer together again.

“It felt good to get a lot off my chest,” Williams said. “It was good to get back to work. If anybody knows exactly what I need to do and how to make me tick, it’s him. So it was good.”

A win on Saturday night, Williams said, would feel just as incredible as it did four years ago when he had that world title belt strapped around him. His life has been defined by overcoming challenges. Another one awaits on Saturday. And don’t blame Williams if he clears it and becomes emotional.

» READ MORE: Philly’s Gabriel Rosado punched through a wall at the Blue Horizon and learned how to win in defeat

“I just kept moving,” Williams said of losing his world title in his first defense. “It hurt, of course. But you can’t dwell on the past too much. It happened. I can’t change it. The only thing I can do is to keep going to right the wrong. If I stop, then it’s embedded in history forever. But if I keep going, then I have a chance to change it. That’s what I have a chance to do on Saturday night.

“Things rarely play out exactly as you have them in your head. Sometimes when you hit roadblocks, you have to get around them. You can’t let roadblocks stop you. You have to find a way.”