If the ultimate compliment for a Philadelphia fighter is a stamp of approval from a fellow Philly fighter, then Salim Ellis-Bey can be honored to have Julian Williams’ endorsement.
“He’s the future of Philadelphia. You can quote me on that,” Williams told BoxingScene of Ellis-Bey, a 17-year-old amateur lightweight who is a 12-time national champion. Williams isn’t around Ellis-Bey on a day-to-day basis, but he knows people who are with him.
“I’m impressed with his character,” Williams said. “A lot of these kids are really good fighters but have poor character, and that doesn’t turn out well. I’m more impressed with his focus than his boxing ability.”
The 34-year-old Williams, 29-4-1 (17 KOs), has become an ambassador and revered figure in the boxing gyms of Philadelphia. The former unified junior middleweight titleholder’s career isn’t over – he is preparing for a March 1 bout against Yoenis Tellez on the pay-per-view undercard of Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach Jnr. Williams-Tellez will be contested for the WBA’s interim title at 154lbs.
Williams had a hard path toward his title reign, and even when he got the belts, things were never easy. His journey took place on a public stage, and that endeared him to fans. It also made young fighters look up to Williams, or at the very least take his words seriously.
So when Williams recently praised Ellis-Bey, it meant something to the teenager.
“J-Rock is a model citizen in boxing,” Ellis-Bey told BoxingScene. “As far as boxing and what you should do after your career and how you should associate with fans and just younger kids that will be looking up to you. He’s definitely a good guy.”
Recently, Ellis-Bey won the 2024 USA Youth 132lbs National Championship in December and was granted the Male Youth Outstanding Boxer award.
Boxing is a sport of X-factors. The slightest miscalculation can lead to a career being derailed. There is no such thing as being “too focused” when it comes to the sport, and some of the focus Williams sees in Ellis-Bey was modeled by the professional boxers around Philadelphia when Ellis-Bey was coming up – including Williams.
“Forget all the skill, forget all the national championships he’s won, forget all of that stuff,” Williams said. “He is a focused young man. You are around him, he barely talks. I have probably seen him smile, like, once and that was on Instagram. He’s just a focused kid. I like everything I am seeing from him.”
Lucas Ketelle took an unconventional path to boxing, eventually finding his stride in gyms and media. For the past decade, he has hosted the “Lukie Boxing” podcast, filmed training camps for fighters like Arnold Barboza Jnr, Mikey Garcia and Caleb Plant, and worked with top professionals such as Mike Bazzel. Ketelle is also an author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for ProBox TV, BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @LukieBoxing.
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