Julian "J-Rock" Williams outslugs Nathaniel Gallimore to win IBF junior middleweight title eliminator

A lot of people questioned the toughness of Julian Williams before Saturday's co-main event at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

They can't do that now.

Williams (25-1-1, 15 KO's), 28, of Philadelphia, mostly dominated the action in a tough majority decision win over the hard-hitting Nathaniel Gallimore to win an IBF junior middleweight title eliminator, but was cut around both eyes over the course of the bout.

Gallimore (20-2-1, 17 KO's), 29, a Jamaica native fighting out of Evanston, Illinois, gave it his best effort, but at the end of the night, it was Williams who exhibited that he was the more seasoned pro of the two.

Judge Max DeLuca scored the bout 117-110 for Williams, while Judge Eric Cheek gave Gallimore an extra round with a 116-112 score. However, Judge Patricia Rose Jarman had it 114-114, and no one knows what she was watching specifically. FightNights.com scored the bout 116-112 for Williams.

The first round belonged to Williams as he connected with hard jabs to the head, and effective counter punches.

Williams continued to outjab Gallimore in the second, but his opponent was able to close the distance and connect on several shots to the body, and just missed with an uppercut when Williams left his chin exposed for a massive counter.

An abrasion was visible underneath the eye of Williams at the end of the second round.

Gallimore got another chance to land the uppercut and took advantage of it, hurting Williams late in the fourth round.

For the next three rounds, Gallimore mounting a rally, splitting the guard of Williams with a crisp right hand, and roughing him up on the inside.

In the ninth round, Williams entered second gear, while Gallimore lost a cylinder.

Williams knocked back Gallimore with a hard jab and followed it up with a hard left hand to the head and a left hook to the body.

Williams had Gallimore badly hurt in the 11th round, but did not have enough to put his man away.