Foreman to Face Jimmy Williams

Rabbi Yuri Foreman is scheduled to face Jimmy Williams at the Kentucky Center for African-American History in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, March 6. Williams is a capable opponent, but this is a good style matchup for Foreman.

Foreman (35-3, 10 KOs) is coming off of a split decision victory over Jeremy Ramos last December at the same venue. In truth, the 40 year old Foreman looked spry and controlled the fight with his speed and skill. Though this was Yuri's first fight in nearly four years, he bounced around for eight round showing good conditioning. After a slow first his timing sharpened, and he landed eye-catching shots from the outside.

Jimmy "Quiet Storm" Williams (16-5-2, 5 KOs), a 34-year old former college football player and current family man, was raised in New Jersey and now fights out of Connecticut. His record is an accurate representation of his ability. Williams started his career undefeated in his first sixteen fights (including one draw and one no contest) but has failed to win in each of his last five.

The first two of his five-fight winless streak weren't bad results. In March of '19, Williams went the distance with Mark "Bazooka" DeLuca, a fighter with a name in the game. Four months later, Jimmy was stopped in the fourth against Abel Ramos, but he wasn't blown out of the water. Ramos, a world class welterweight, wore down Williams. But his last three results have been problematic.

On October 11, 2019, Williams fought to a split draw against a more experienced opponent, but Jose Medina was just 18-17-1 heading into the fight, which took place in Jimmy's home state. A year later, a hot undefeated prospect named Brandun Lee destroyed Williams in a first round KO. Williams was badly hurt in the fight. Two months later, last December, Jimmy lost a unanimous decision to another experienced journeyman in Mexico. Esteban Villalba earned his twelfth win in 37 fights when he beat Williams. The Foreman fight will be just five months after the Lee debacle.

Williams has fought some solid competition in his career. In addition to DeLuca, Ramos, and Lee, he also battled Issouf Kinda. In their 2017 fight, both fighters exchanged punches while referee Steve Smoger attempted to break them. Kinda then landed a left hook on Smoger, who took it well. Williams answered with a right that knocked out Kinda. Perhaps influenced by Kinda' left, Smoger initially ruled it a fourth round KO for Williams, but the result was later changed to a no contest because the KO punch was a foul.

Williams's style is made for Foreman to succeed. Williams doesn't possess too many dimensions as a fighter, but he has a good jab, is a master of controlling distance, and is defensively responsible. His best wins have mostly come against opponents with good records from the Northeast U.S., including a victory over Nicholas DeLomba in 2017 for a regional belt.

If Yuri shows the craft he did in December, his speed should be too much for Williams. Williams likes to counter from the outside, but he doesn't have the hand speed to catch Foreman. Quiet Storm has heart, but his chin is suspect. As with Foreman, he has some power, but isn't a knockout puncher. Williams has a decent left hook and a good chopping right, which he used successfully against DeLomba. Jimmy pressed the action against DeLomba, probably his best performance, but that isn't his modus operandi.

This eight-round junior middleweight bout has the potential to be a stinker because Foreman is a mover and Williams is hesitant counterpuncher. If Williams fights aggressively as he did against DeLomba, it could be an exciting match. Or, mostly likely, it could be a showcase for Foreman's boxing mastery.